30 Days of Lundqvist: 400 Wins

Henrik Lundqvist is the greatest goaltender in New York Rangers history.

This is an inarguable fact; he’s the franchise leader in wins, saves, save percentage, shutouts, and minutes played. In every category, he is well ahead of the #2 position on the lists. In fact, there is a very strong argument that Henrik Lundqvist is a top-three goaltender in the history of the NHL (behind Dominik Hasek and Patrick Roy). The Swedish netminder’s incredible run of over a decade of consistent greatness strengthens these claims.

On February 11th, 2017, Hank solidified one more piece of his case for his future in the Hall of Fame.

With a 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche, Lundqvist won his 400th game and became the fastest goalie in NHL history to reach that milestone. Lundqvist ended the season with 405 career wins – which is 10th all time – and could, conceivably, hit 500 wins or more by the time everything is said and done.

Every year, almost without fail, there seems to be a dark virus of doubt that creeps into the collective hivemind of the Rangers’ fanbase when it comes to Lundqvist. Every soft goal or off game or two causes a Great Depression-esque panic among some cynical fans – including calls for a trade and/or demands to start whoever the backup is that year. The next time you feel any symptoms of this malady, please just take a quick look at Henrik Lundqvist’s career and take a slow, deep breath.

Lundqvist is The King for a reason – he has carried this team to great heights over and over again, and the only reward he wants now is to hoist the Stanley Cup. Look over Henrik’s numbers and appreciate his greatness while he’s here, because before you know it, he’ll be gone. We’ll be writing career retrospectives and the Rangers will announce that they are retiring his jersey.

Not bad for a seventh round pick in, eh?