Henrik Lundqvist is not the problem with the Rangers, but the 35-year-old franchise goaltender is no longer capable of being the singular solution to the Cup-less streak of 23 years, either.
Truth is, he never was, was he? Or else there’d have been a parade up the Canyon of Heroes at least once over the last six seasons when the teams in front of him were tantalizingly close enough to dream that everything was possible with the King in nets.
The difference is now it is no longer possible to pretend that Lundqvist and Lundqvist alone can make the difference.
That’s where we begin with one of the greatest athletes ever to represent a New York pro sports team. With the recognition that the Rangers no longer can depend on Lundqvist to camouflage deficiencies on the roster around him to the extent that he did through his first 11 years on Broadway.
Lundqvist was a co-conspirator in this six-game second-round elimination to the Senators that stands as the least defensible series defeat of his career. For all of the flaws and faulty decisions through the series, the Rangers did score four goals in consecutive road games and lost them both.
Fact is that Lundqvist, who had by far his poorest season on record, has surrendered at least five goals in four of his last 14 playoff starts after having allowed that many in three of the previous 41 and four of the previous 51 postseason outings.
Against Montreal in the first round, Lundqvist demonstrated that he is still capable of hitting the high notes in outplaying Carey Price in the Blueshirts’ upset, six-game victory. But he could not sustain that level of excellence through a second round in which he was always under pressure in Ottawa beginning with that first period of that first game in which his team gave up 21 shots. The goaltender was spotty and as much to blame as anyone for the losses in overtime in Games 2 and 5.
But we’re not here to talk about the past as much as to address present reality and options for the future. I am certain that Lundqvist is stung by the way this ended every bit as much as he is stung by his .910 regular-season save percentage that ranked 21st among the 29 goalies to start at least 40 games. This is not a man who countenances average play, from his teammates or himself. I am sure that Lundqvist will review his summer training regimen and make necessary adjustments to his offseason preparation.
All right, Lundqvist’s age, which will be 36 next spring. Tim Thomas won the Vezina during his age-36 season and the Stanley Cup two months after turning 37. Dominik Hasek won the Stanley Cup at age 37. Patrick Roy was four months shy of 36 when he won his last Stanley Cup. Martin Brodeur was 40 when he outplayed the Vezina-winning Lundqvist and carried the Devils over the Rangers in the 2012 Eastern Conference finals.
Now, would the Rangers consider trading Lundqvist, who, as you know, has a no-move clause? I believe that if approached, management would inquire whether the goaltender would accept a trade to the interested party.
Putting aside lifestyle and family issues for the sake of this conversation as far as Lundqvist granting his permission, it would have to be from a team fancying itself only an upper-echelon goaltender away from the Cup and could afford the $8.5 million cap hit on Lundqvist’s contract, which runs through 2020-21.
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I just don’t see any of those clubs out there. I don’t see Florida — which missed the playoffs — attempting to bring in Lundqvist when they have Roberto Luongo. I don’t see St. Louis making that leap, though could you imagine Brodeur as Lundqvist’s goalie coach? I don’t see a single analogous scenario to the one in 2001, when the powerhouse Red Wings, superseded by the Avalanche and Roy, obtained Hasek from the Sabres after the Czech asked to be traded to a contender.
Lundqvist is the Rangers goaltender, and he will be when training camp opens in September. Like a number of players, he will need to be better next season. If not, he will probably play less. But at the same time, management has the obligation to provide Lundqvist with a stronger support system.
Cleaning up that defense so that the team spends less time in its own end and surrenders fewer chances from right around the net is the best way to make Lundqvist young again.