Hail King Henrik

He has been the face of the New York Rangers since he joined the team in 2006. He played for no other hockey club since entering the league. Now the best goalie to come out of Europe over the last twenty years is calling it a career. Henrik Lundqvist has decide to hang up the pads and call it a career. He missed last season due to a heart issue and has announced earlier today that he was done playing the game of hockey.

Hank took to Twitter earlier today to put in his own words, the best way to say goodbye to the game. "For the last 30 years, I have devoted my life to the game of hockey and now it's time to walk away from the game I love and begin a new chapter. The future excites me. I've met so many amazing people over the years that will help to guide and inspire me in my new journey." He concluded his message saying thank you to the NHL, New York City, the Rangers and, of course, the fans!

The Rangers have already announced that they will retire Hank's #30 at some point during this 2021-22 season

There has no better goalie of this generation than Hank. He started his career in 2006 on Broadway and, with the exception of the last two season in the NHL, has won 24 or more games every full season he has played in. With the Rangers, Lundqvist was a five-time All-Star and won the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goalie in 2011-12. After his run with the Rangers, Lundqvist signed a one-year deal with the Washington Capitals for 2020-21 but never played for the team after undergoing open-heart surgery in January.

Hank finished his career with a record of 459-310-96 in 887 career NHL games. he ends with a save percentage of .918, a 2.43 goals-against average and 64 shutouts. He is the Rangers' franchise leader in all those categories. The wins are 6th most, while he ranks 17th in shutouts, 13th in save percentage.

There is no doubt in the minds of any hockey fan who has had the pleasure of watching him play over the last 15 years that Hank will go down as one of the greatest to ever strap on a pair of goalie pads and step between the pipes. Once the waiting period is up, there's no doubt he will be taking his rightful place in Toronto at the Hockey Hall of Fame.

I'll be the first to admit this, even though he killed the Islanders over the years, as a hockey fan I really enjoyed watching this guy play. It really was a joy and to be honest, he deserved a slightly better fate in one regards. He never got a chance to lift hockey's holy grail, the Stanley Cup, over his head. He's accomplished all there is to in this great game for a goalie, except win the big one. Closest he came was the 2014 finals run before losing to the Kings in the last round.

So hats off to a hell of a career for one of the greatest to ever play this great game. Thanks for everything Hank!