With the Rangers in the middle of rebuilding, many have wondered if goaltender Henrik Lundqvist would be willing to stick around to see it through. Larry Brooks of the New York Post asked the veteran that very question and Lundqvist emphasized his commitment to the team:
“I’m committed to this. I know that this is going to be a test, how I handle the ups and downs, the growing and the mistakes. Not only me, but the players who have been here for a while and are not used to this. But I’m prepared for it. I’m embracing the challenge.”
The 36-year-old has been a mainstay for the Rangers since 2005-06 and while there may be a couple more rough years ahead (many expect them to be sellers once again by the trade deadline), Lundqvist appears to be ready to wait it out. He’s signed through the 2020-21 season with a cap hit of $8.5MM.
Elsewhere around the league:
- On the heels of Jonathan Quick’s knee surgery, the Kings do not plan to explore the trade market for a short-term replacement, reports Curtis Zupke of the LA Times (Twitter link), who adds that the typical recovery timeline for Quick’s injury is three-to-six weeks. While that isn’t a significant amount of time, Los Angeles is already sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference and if their struggles continue while Quick is out, they may find themselves too far outside of the postseason picture. In the meantime, they’ll turn to Jack Campbell and veteran Peter Budaj to hold down the fort in his absence.
- Canucks defenseman Chris Tanev is missing his fourth straight game on Wednesday and the team announced on Twitter that he’s doubtful to suit up on Friday as well due to a bruised hip. Head coach Travis Green is hopeful that Tanev will be able to travel with the team at the start of their upcoming road trip which gets underway November 6th in Detroit. Injuries have long been an issue for the 28-year-old as he has yet to surpass the 70-game mark in his career.
Please don’t trade anything for a temporary goalie (Kings). Your season is over, it was over before it started when the only thing you did to address a poor offense was sign another aging player who hadn’t played in the NHL in years, to a heavily inflated contract that hurts you for years to come. Quick hasn’t played well this year (when he has played) and his trade value itself is down. Who has value in a trade? Pearson? Tofolli and his one good season? Kempe who is in year three and kings are still waiting for him to “take that next step”? The only value is on the defensive side with maybe martinez/muzzin…. even then, our cap space is at about zero. Should have never resigned doughty when our defense is deep and our offense is ZERO