Henrik Lundqvist retires at age 39

Olympic gold medalist Henrik Lundqvist of Are, Sweden, one of the National Hockey League’s top goaltenders over the last two decades has retired at the age of 39 according to the Associated Press. Lundqvist played 15 seasons with the New York Rangers from 2005 to 2020. He then signed as a free agent with the Washington Capitals on October 9, 2020, but did not play in the American nation’s capital because of a heart condition where he needed open-heart surgery.

Lundqvist represented the Rangers in five National Hockey League All-Star Games over a decade (2009, 2011, 2012, 2018 and 2019). He also won the Vezina Trophy in 2012, was named to the NHL’s all-rookie team in 2005-06, and the NHL’s first all-star team in 2012.

In Lundqvist’s Vezina Trophy winning season, he had a record of 39 wins, 18 regulation losses, and five losses in extra time. He also had eight shutouts, a goals against average of 1.97, and a save percentage of .930.

Throughout Lundqvist’s career, he had a record of 459 wins, 310 regulation losses, and 96 losses in extra time. Lundqvist also had 64 shutouts, a goals against average of 2.43, and a save percentage of .918.

Lundqvist’s 459 wins are sixth most in NHL history. He only trails Martin Brodeur (691), Patrick Roy (551), Marc-Andre Fleury (492), Roberto Luongo (489), and Ed Belfour (484) on the NHL all-time list. Lundqvist also has the distinction of having the most wins in the NHL ever by a goaltender born outside of Canada.

Lundqvist’s 64 shutouts is also 17th all-time, and second most among European-born goaltenders. The only European-born goaltender with more shutouts is Dominik Hasek of Pardubice, Czech Republic, who had 81 shutouts with the Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators from 1990 to 2008.

Throughout his NHL career, Lundqvist led the NHL in numerous categories. They included wins (24 in 2012-13), shutouts (10 in 2007-08, and 11 in 2010-11), and saves (1788 in 2015-16).

Lundqvist won his Olympic gold medal for Sweden at the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin. He also led Sweden to a gold medal at the 2002 World Inline Hockey Championship in Nuremberg, Germany and the 2017 World Men’s Hockey Championship in Cologne.