Henrik Lundqvist didn’t have to wait long to make the Hockey Hall of Fame — such was the obvious greatness of his career.
The former Rangers goaltender was selected in his first year of eligibility, one of seven players and builders revealed by the selection committee Wednesday for the Class of 2023. Lundqvist is joined by center Pierre Turgeon, Canadian women’s national team forward Caroline Ouellette, general manager Pierre Lacroix, coach Ken Hitchcock and goaltenders Tom Barrasso and Mike Vernon.
It’s the first time since 1963 that three goalies will be in the same Hall of Fame class.
Lundqvist’s No. 30 jersey has already been retired in the Madison Square Garden rafters since January 2022. Now, Lundqvist will join the sport’s most prestigious — and permanent — honor at the Nov. 13 ceremony in Toronto.
“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.”
Lundqvist will become the latest former Rangers player to get inducted into the Hall of Fame. But former Devils forward Alexander Mogilny — eligible since 2009 — was snubbed again by the selection committee, and longtime Devils center Patrik Elias also wasn’t selected in his fifth year of eligibility.
The man fans called King Henrik, who only played for the Rangers, finished his 15-year career with 459 victories, a .918 save percentage and a stretch at the start of his career in which he led the Blueshirts to the playoffs in 11 of 12 seasons — including a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
That made his early Hall of Fame selection anything but a surprise. Lundqvist also recorded 64 regular-season shutouts and won 61 postseason games.
He ended his career as the sixth-winningest goalie in league history, trailing just Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy, Marc-Andre Fleury, Roberto Luongo and Ed Belfour. His shutouts rank 17th all-time.
When the Rangers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014, Lundqvist shut out the Canadiens in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals to snap a tie with Mike Richter for career playoff wins — giving him 42 — while also moving into a tie with Richter’s team record for postseason shutouts (9).
Three years later, to start a 2017 postseason series against Montreal, Lundqvist set that record, too.
Recently, Lundqvist has served as an NHL analyst with MSG Network and TNT while another star goalie — Igor Shesterkin — has emerged with the Blueshirts.
The pair overlapped in 2019-20, Lundqvist’s final season with the Rangers, and paired with Alexandar Georgiev to start games in the Rangers’ crease.
“Obviously, it comes down to stopping the puck,” Lundqvist said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday, when asked about how goaltending has evolved since his debut. “But even for me, getting into the league in ’05 and then leaving around ’20, ’21, there was so many new things. So many different moves and tactics from a goaltending perspective that if you want to stay in the league, you really had to adapt your style a little bit.
“Goaltending right now, it’s so strong, and I think for so long, goalies have been pushing that development and creativity. For me, now as a fan just watching it, it’s really special, and the guys that are dominating in the league today, they’re just so good.”
A heart condition forced Lundqvist to make that transition to being a spectator earlier than anticipated. That’s the subject of a documentary titled “Open Heart” that premiered last Thursday night at the Tribeca Film Festival. In 2020, the Blueshirts bought out the final year of Lundqvist’s seven-year, $59.5 million deal, and he eventually signed a one-year deal with the Capitals.
He never played another game, however, eventually needing open-heart surgery, which prevented him from playing the 2020-21 season and ultimately led to his retirement.
“I’m OK with this,” Lundqvist said when he retired in 2021. “I am. I feel like I’m at a very strong place mentally after going through all of the challenges of the last year, starting with when the Rangers bought me out.
“For the last eight months or so, there has been so much waiting-and-seeing, and I have not been in the driver’s seat. I’ve been in the passenger’s seat. Now there was a decision to make. It’s all still fresh. I decided only a few days ago. But I am at peace. I look back at my career, and all I have is gratitude and pride. I am just so grateful.”
The impact from his career lasted, however, even without the elusive Stanley Cup title that both Vernon and Barrasso possess. Because just two years later, Lundqvist has become a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
