New York Rangers icon Henrik Lundqvist was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Wednesday, adding the final exclamation point on an outstanding NHL career.
Henrik Lundqvist, the face of the New York Rangers franchise, was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame following a vote by the 18-person selection committee.
“Grateful and extremely honored to be selected to the Hockey Hall Of Fame,” Lundqvist tweeted after the selections were revealed. “Thinking of all the great players in the HHOF that inspired me as a kid. Feels amazing to be included in this special group.”
Selected in the seventh round (205 overall) of the 2000 NHL Draft by the New York Rangers, the King played his entire 15-year career as a Blueshirt accumulating 459 wins, 64 regular-season shutouts, and won 61 postseason games. He led the team to two Eastern Conference Championships series and a Stanley Cup Final in 2014.
“I just want to say thank you to the committee for voting me in,” Lundqvist said. “I mean, growing up as a kid, thinking about players in the Hall of Fame … It’s such a big inspiration to me why I started playing hockey.”
NHL.com
Henrik was selected to the HHOF in his first year of eligibility. Lundqvist is joined by center Pierre Turgeon, goaltenders Tom Barrasso and Mike Vernon, general manager Pierre Lacroix, coach Ken Hitchcock, and Canadian women’s national team forward Caroline Ouellette.
Impressive Career
Lundqvist’s career, despite not winning a Stanley Cup, justifies his selection to the HHOF, which includes his international play for Team Sweden.
-He is one of 10 goaltenders in NHL history who have registered at least 400 career wins and at least 60 career shutouts.
-Lundqvist is the only goaltender in NHL history who earned 30 or more wins in each of his first seven seasons in the league (2005-06 – 2011-12).
-Lundqvist earned at least 30 wins in 11 different seasons in his NHL career.
-Lundqvist is also the only goaltender in NHL history to have 13 consecutive 20-win seasons at any point during their career in the league.
-Lundqvist earned six wins in Game 7 of a playoff series in his career (6-2 record). His six Game 7 wins are tied for the most in NHL history (along with Hall of Famers Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy).
-In 2011-12, Lundqvist won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s Best Goaltender, and he was also a finalist for the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player. Lundqvist was at least a finalist for the Vezina Trophy in five different seasons in his career (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2011-12, 2012-13).
-A native of Are, Sweden, Lundqvist represented his country in three Winter Olympics (2006, 2010, 2014). Lundqvist helped Sweden win a gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, and a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Lundqvist also represented Sweden at the IIHF World Championship on multiple occasions throughout his career, and he helped Sweden win a gold medal in the tournament in 2017.
-Lundqvist started 129 consecutive postseason games with the Rangers, from Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against New Jersey on Apr. 26, 2006, to Game 2 of the Qualifying Round against Carolina on Aug. 3, 2020. Lundqvist’s streak of 129 consecutive postseason starts was the third-longest by a goaltender in NHL history.
The HHOF ceremony will take place on November 13 in Toronto, Ontario.