Henrik Lundqvist has made it clear in the past that he wants to retire with the New York Rangers. However, it's looking harder and harder for that to become a reality. The goalie has between the pipes for the Rangers since 2005 and now, at age 37 with the team facing a rebuild and his latest contract nearly up, he may have no choice but to end up finishing his career elsewhere.
"I don't know if I'll stay with the Rangers my entire career," he said, according to NHL.com. "I have two years left on my deal and it has always been my goal to stay with the Rangers, but once you get up there in age you never know. I know what I want, but if the club has other ideas I know I'll have to listen. You can't just do your own thing."
Lundqvist walked back those comments a bit on Monday, saying he's still committed to the Rangers and hopes to remain in New York for the balance of his career.
"My thinking hasn't changed," Lundqvist said in a written statement to the New York Post. "The organization and I are on the same page."
"What I meant is that a player never becomes bigger or more important than an organization. While it is still my goal to win the Cup in New York before I retire, at the same time I understand as a player that I have to respect the position we are in and process we are going through."
Lundqvist's current contract expires in 2022, and he has a no-movement clause. However, once this contract is up he doesn't appear to be thinking of calling it quits. The goalie hasn't posted a .920 save percentage since the 2015-16 season, and last year his goals against average went above 3.00 for the first time in his career. Part of that, of course, was the bodies in front of him.
The reality is that Lundqvist may not have time to wait for the Rangers' rebuild to be done if he wants to win a Stanley Cup. Last year marked just the third time in his tenure and the second in a row that New York didn't make the postseason. If Lundqvist wants to gun for a championship, there's a decent chance he'll have to do it elsewhere.
