HERE HAVE YOU NEVER been in the New York Rangers goal cage other than number one, Henrik Lundqvist.
Challenged, tested - absolutely. Just as damned always come back as the go-to guy.
The guy to trust.
The guy to lead the team.
The end of last season, however, was not "Henkes" best (thus he followed the whole Rangers curve, started well but fell back), Bulgaria-born Russian Aleksandr Georgijev, 23, came in and impressed, and in the NHL media there has been speculation about that The King might be about to be detronized.
52 (of 82) matches last season, the lowest score in the career if we count off injured 14/15 and lockout winter 12/13; You can click on the Swedish NHL career on your own.
But… in a situation when the team building Rangers feels super exciting (we will get to that),
Henrik Lundqvist, 37, has no idea whatsoever of letting go of the first track:
- The goal is to be one, to play a lot. Then I take nothing for granted, I almost never did. If I can only reach the level that I feel I had in the first half of last season, then I will be one. It's about being there, it's up to me to find that level. Easier to do it in a team that has to do with the endgame talk, which really has things to play for every night.
After a good start, Rangers were 20 points from the playoffs last spring.
Other now, because you know what kindled the hope in Manhattan:
- Artemij Panarin, the Russian scorer and artist, from Columbus.
- Kaapo Kakko, Finnish second in the draft, you saw him in the World Cup; say no more, type.
- Jacob Trouba, hard-hitting, point-scoring back with a cannon season behind him, from Winnipeg.
- Adam Fox, 21-year-old exciting back who after three years at Harvard is now making an interesting start in the NHL. The guy has stood out at the university level.
Rangers have released well-paid slop Kevin Shattenkirk (Tampa), GM Jeff Gorton's redevelopment is likely to have a good bit left if you want to go all the way, but no talk about the club's fans going in with completely different expectations this fall.
How has it affected Henrik Lundqvist's summer? I wondered. The answer:
- The preparation has not changed, the upload ... you have your stuff that you try to run every year. But mentally I am extra charged, it will be exciting to see if we get it together, it is exciting player.
"Henke" is not 37 and routinely for naught, it is noticeable in the snack, he does not float away, does not raise Panarin and Kakko to the skies and predict immediate success in new surroundings, knows that things must take their time. However, he says:
- Of course I feel a little extra optimism after this summer. I certainly hope we can take some steps. Playoffs? It is difficult to know where we stand, it is something we must discuss during the camp, what is realistic, what pressure we should put on the group. You usually feel a bit then.
** But probably should Panarin, the guy who was nicknamed The Bread Man, be able to light the candles in Manhattan and fix some ... hm, bread and spectacle?
- Yes, but we probably shouldn't put too much pressure on a player. But hope that Panarin, Mika (Zibanejad) and who now becomes third link can become a good chain for us.
* Does it feel like Mika should be his center?
- Yes it does.
** Your thoughts on Kaapo Kakko that you encountered in the World Cup?
- Interesting to see him, he has played some senior hockey after all, it can be tough sometimes (rookie in the NHL) for young guys, but he seems quite sensible.
** Surely it should be a really fun season for you, right?
- Yes, there are conditions for that. But ... it's so little ... sometimes it's so little that makes every season go.
Clearly, Henrik Lundqvist does not want to take too big words in his mouth; after the final loss in 2014 and the semi-final loss the following year, Rangers have only won a playoff series of four years, the last two seasons have all ended before the fun even started.
No playoffs, no party.Lundqvist, who won the Vezina Trophy in 2012 and is a hockey icon in Manhattan, has come ever further from the dream of one day lifting Lord Stanley's buck.
** Is it still alive, "Henke"? Is the dream still there?
- The dream, of course. I don't know how long I am, I don't know where we are in a year, but it is clear that ... there is no reason not to have that dream.
** Because it is probably a driving force?
- Yes, but what drives us now is to prepare me for the season, do it as best I can, see where we stand as a team, agree with the group on what we should have for the goal. Then, to win the Stanley Cup, there is a long way behind it, it's nothing I think of now, not in the situation we're in now. Some years we have been in another position
ion, now we're going to do it as best we can and try to make it to the playoffs.
Henrik Lundqvist has run some passes with Frölunda, most notably he has trained with other NHL players, other ex-Frölundaites in Slottsskogsrinken and Frölundaborg.
Right fate on the stands. Surprisingly few take the chance to see Lundqvist, John Klingberg, Andreas Johnsson & Co.
The more people see and hear the Swedish goalkeeper watch out on TV:
"Watch the cash register? Say what I dooo… ”
The commercials with "shampoo guy" are popular and I am often struck by how good "Henke" is in that role.
Not all celebrities are there in front of the camera.
Not everyone acts unforced, relaxed.
But "Henke" seems to feel as at home and full of confidence in the TV world as ... well, when he is guarding another type of bag.
** Do you really look to have fun?
- It has been fun. Talented people that I've worked with, it's been a long collaboration, eight years, with different teams. I have to think about it, come up with my own ideas. It has been an interesting project.
** Do you write parts of the script yourself?
- Yes, some pieces I write.
** Anything you want to go on with the day the hockey career is over?
- Haha I do not know.
For a while, there is full focus on the bags that are anchored in North American rinks.
The New York Rangers are going to take another step, grow as a team and hopefully go to the playoffs with a sharper, more exciting team than last season,
Here at home, Henrik Lundqvist is not only a hockey star but also a shampoo guy.
In The Garden he is only The King, the King.
The veteran has two years left on the contract, and he does not want to know anything detronizing.
https://rakapuckar.com/blog/wdpGAxRweRDngWy
