PHOTO: Bildbyrån
He is Swedish hockey’s most successful goaltender of all time.
Henrik Lundqvist had an absolutely brilliant career and is praised to the skies.
– He was impossible to score on, Mats Sundin tells nhl.com.
Few Swedish hockey goalies can measure up Henrik Lundqvist’s amazing track record. It really says everything about his greatness that his jersey has been hoisted to the roof of Madison Square Garden and he goes by the name “King Henrik” in New York.
Henke’s career
There were over 1,000 games in the NHL for the New York Rangers and “Henke” has entered the history books forever as one of the organization’s and the entire NHL’s top goalies of all time.
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Unfortunately, he was forced to end his NHL career prematurely due to a heart defect and the Swedish goalkeeper never managed to win the Stanley Cup either. Now he will be inducted into the prestigious Hockey Hall of Fame and in connection with that he will receive the ultimate tribute from some of our greatest Swedish hockey players of all time.
Paying tribute to Lundqvist
The icon Mats Sundin remembers his first meeting with the goalie phantom Lundqvist and how pissed he got at him.
– Yes, we met for the first time during the WC in Finland in 2003. Henrik was the third goalkeeper (behind Mikael Tellqvist and Tommy Salo), and I saw even then that there was something extra. He was impossible to score on when we were training. I remember talking to (then national team captain) Hardy Nilsson about him: I was a bit pissed off, actually. In the end, I stood five meters away and shot a shot at him just to get the puck in, “Sudden” tells nhl.com and gets the nod from Peter Forsberg.
– I think you never even saw the goal when you went against him. Then he was very athletic and a huge winner. It’s a great combination, says “Foppa”.
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While Nicklas Lidström’s very best memory of Henke is the Olympic final in 2006 when the goalkeeper hero played big between the posts in the 3-2 feat against arch-rival Finland. And above all, a free mode when Olli Jokinen had an open goal in the absolute final stages of the match.
– I was out on the ice myself there in the final seconds, so I was very close to the situation when “Henke” saved (Jokinen’s shot) when Finland had taken out the goalkeeper. It was an absolutely incredible save and it is a very strong memory, says “Lidas” to nhl.com.
READ MORE: Tommy Salo’s heartwarming thanks to goalkeeper colleague Henrik Lundqvist after the beautiful gesture: “It warmed”
The truth is that neither Sudden, Foppa nor Lidas managed to score on Henrik Lundqvist in the first season in the NHL. And it was only Sundin and Foppa who scored on Henke during the time in North America.
Lidström never managed to get a hole in the countryman, nor the notorious goalscorer Markus Näslund was able to outwit Lundqvist in the goal.
– It’s great fun to look back on my career and know that I got to play with so many legends, and I definitely count “Henke” among them. I have been lucky enough to play with many of the greatest, Mario Lemieux, (Jaromir) Jagr, (Ron) Francis, (Mark) Messier, Peter (Forsberg) and many others. On the goalkeeper side, I haven’t played with many who I feel can measure up to Henrik… Roberto Luongo was fantastic in Vancouver. But Henrik is absolutely up there as one of the best I’ve played with, says Markus Näslund in a statement.
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