Henrik Lundqvist was forced to end his career.
Now he opens up about the major heart operation.
– It was close. It was close to the eye, he says in a new SVT program.
Henrik Lundqvist had completely dominated the New York Rangers. For 15 years he had been the face of the Rangers organization, and few players have ever been as beloved by their crowd as “King Henrik” was by the crowd at Madison Square Garden.
Opening up about the big operation
No goaltender from Europe has won more NHL games than Henrik Lundqvist, and many of his records will live on for a long time. But the career came to an abrupt end. He chose to sign with the Washington Capitals, switching teams for the first time in his NHL career. But there was never a match there.
Suddenly came the shocking news: Henrik Lundqvist had lived with a heart defect all his life, which had been stable. Suddenly it wasn’t anymore. He was forced into a major and difficult operation. In a new SVT documentary, Lundqvist now opens up about a turbulent year to say the least. On the chest there is a scar several decimetres long.
– For me, it is part of my history. It is a daily reminder of life. It is very big to say that, but it turns out that way if you look at it. It was close. It was close to the eye, he says.
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“It was shocking”
His mother, Eva Johansson, also participates in the documentary, which SVT showed small excerpts from. She talks about the shock, and how strong Lundqvist has been through it all.
– It was shocking, it was a major operation, it has been a difficult year, she says.
Henrik Lundqvist also explains in detail exactly what it was that needed to be fixed, and why it was so dangerous for him to continue playing.
– When the blood is pumped out, the valves close so that the blood does not go back into the heart. For me, for a long time, it was pretty stable. But it kept leaking back. Now at the end, 60 percent of all the blood that went out came back, and that makes the heart have to work harder and there is more pressure. You get to a point where you start leaking too much.
The documentary about Henrik Lundqvist is broadcast on SVT on Thursday at 10 p.m.
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