CHICAGO — Now is not the time for Henrik Lundqvist to open up and spill his guts. There might be a time for that down the road for the always accommodating goaltender, who is being eased out of the Rangers’ nets after 15 years as not just the starter, but the face of the franchise.
With his 38th birthday 11 days away, Lundqvist has had only had two starts since Jan. 6, the day Igor Shesterkin was called up from AHL Hartford to make it a crowded crease, along with Alexandar Georgiev. Shesterkin was set to return from a mild ankle injury to start against the Blackhawks on Wednesday night, after Georgiev had started the previous three games.
Lundqvist, meanwhile, continues grinding away, sharing a net with Georgiev on Wednesday morning and trying not to think of the big picture — or its implications.
“There’s a time we can talk about the experience,” Lundqvist told The Post. “But right now I just want to focus on working hard, and that’s it.”
It’s clear this has been tough on Lundqvist, who did not so much give up his throne through poor play, as he had it usurped by the two 24-year-olds who have both played very well. It has left the thoughtful Swede with a lot of time on his hands and a lot to contemplate.
“It’s challenging at times,” Lundqvist said. “You think a lot, for sure. You try to come back to just controlling what you can control and not overthinking it. When things are the way you want them to be, you think less. You just go out and play. So it’s been a lot of trying to analyze the situation, but I just try to work hard every day.”
Lundqvist has one more year left on his contract with an $8.5 million salary-cap hit, and he has a full no-movement clause. At some point in the future, the Blueshirts could ask if he wants to waive that clause to go to a contender and play for that elusive Stanley Cup (even if no teams had inquired just yet), or they could decide to buy out the final year of his deal. Neither of those is an ideal way for him to end his Hall of Fame career, which started when he was a rookie in 2005-06 and he took the net from Kevin Weekes.
It was thought that Georgiev might be the one to go in a trade in order to make room for Shesterkin — long considered to be the heir to Lundqvist while he dominated in the KHL. But it doesn’t seem like a Rangers priority to move Georgiev, who will be a restricted free agent this summer.
It also has become clear that Shesterkin is ready for the bright lights. He entered Wednesday having won six of his first seven starts, including his first road victory, Feb. 11 at Winnipeg. That is also when he suffered the minor ankle injury that didn’t keep him from finishing the game, but was sore enough to keep him out of the net for a week.
There was also quite the commotion when coach David Quinn said, before the Rangers played at Minnesota last Thurday that Shesterkin was the team’s No. 1 goalie “right now.” Quinn qualified the statement to emphasize the fact he was speaking about that moment and nothing further, and then mocked the hubbub that the comment created.
But no goalie besides Lundqvist has been declared the Rangers’ best option at any point in the past 15 years. When Lundqvist was healthy, he was always No. 1. The rare times he sat out two or three straight games for a hot backup were noteworthy situations.
What is happening now is more than that. Maybe the Rangers still will trade Georgiev before Monday’s deadline, or maybe they deal him over the summer, allowing a Shesterkin-Lundqvist duo to move into next season.
Or maybe we are nearing the end of Henrik Lundqvist’s career as a Ranger.
“I just try to work hard every day. That’s my goal. And be ready,” Lundqvist said. “That’s that. I don’t have much more to say right now.”