Shutterstock
NHL legend Henrik Lundqvist is retiring from hockey.
On Friday, the longtime New York Rangers goaltender announced that he is retiring due to his lengthy battle with heart issues. Lundqvist, who signed with the Washington Capitals before missing the 2020-21 season due to his heart issues, underwent open-heart surgery in January.
“When [this] summer started, my plan was still to come back,” said Lundqvist, via the New York Post. “I started working out again and was skating, but without any contact. But there were some setbacks. Too much exertion caused some chest pain. I was hoping I would be 100 percent by this time. But I was told that inflammation takes a long time to correct and with medication I might be out of the woods, but it could be another full year before I would be 100 percent.
“So I thought about this, talked with my closest friends, my family and my wife, Therese. This year was probably harder for her than for me. She is such a strong woman. It came down to how badly I wanted to push it, how much of a gamble did I want to take? And I came to the conclusion that there are too many unknowns and too much risk for not enough reward for me to keep playing.
Lundqvist was a star for the New York Rangers from 2005 to 2020. The legendary goalie finishes his illustrious career with 459 wins and a goals against average of 2.43.
