Veteran goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who just joined the Washington Capitals a couple of months ago, has announced that he will not suit up for the team this year due to a heart condition.
The 38-year-old Swede played his entire NHL career—15 years—with the New York Rangers, and is considered to be one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the franchise.
However, the Rangers decided to move on from the veteran in October and bought out the remainder of his contract, after which Lundqvist signed a one-year contract to play with the Capitals.
Lundqvist addressed fans on social media, saying that a decision was made to not play this year after “many weeks of tests and conversations with specialists around the country.”
It’s hard to say whether this might be the end of Lundqvist’s career, considering that doctors have told him that playing with this existing heart condition, at this time, poses a very serious risk to his health.
Regardless of Lundqvist’s condition, the Capitals were expected to start Ilya Samsonov in the goal this year, who had an excellent rookie year in 2019-2020. Lundqvist was expected to play a mentoring role this year for the young goaltender and to provide insurance in the case of injury.
