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Henrik Lundqvist’s Capitals teammates as well as NHL community react to legendary goaltender’s sad news

By Ian Oland

 1 Comment

December 17, 2020 4:27 pm

Henrik Lundqvist announced on Thursday afternoon that he will miss the entire 2020-21 season due to a heart condition.

“Today is a pretty tough and emotional day for me,” the Capitals netminder said. “For several weeks now, I’ve been undergoing several different tests related to a heart condition and after lots of discussions with doctors around the country and finally receiving the last results this week, I, unfortunately, won’t be unable to join the team this year and need to continue the process to fix these issues.”

Lundqvist, who is a future Hall of Famer and one of the most beloved players in the NHL, immediately received an outpouring of support from the NHL community including from his Capitals teammates.

Capitals teammates

Shortly after his annoucnement, three of Lundqvist’s Capitals teammates took to social media to share their well wishes including Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, Carl Hagelin, and Lars Eller.

Capitals owner Ted Leonsis appeared especially shaken by the news calling it “heartbreaking and emotional.” He added, “I am only concerned and thinking about Henrik Lundqvist as a person and for his family’s wellbeing. We pray for his good health.”

NHL teams

Many NHL franchises also took to social media to extender their support to Lundqvist. Hank’s former team, the New York Rangers, published an especially emotional message on Twitter.

The note reads:

We have no doubt that Henrik Lundqvist will face this challenge with the same fierce determination and grace that made him one of the greatest goaltenders to ever play the game of hockey, and an inspiration to all of us. He and his family are in our thoughts during this difficult time. He will always be a part of the New York Rangers family.

The Capitals also said that they “are supportive of Henrik’s decision to step away from hockey at this time due to his heart condition. Our players’ health is of the utmost importance, and we stand behind Henrik’s decision. We want to wish him and his family all the best moving forward.”

Other NHL teams went into Hank’s mentions to personally wish him well.

Gary Bettman

Gary Bettman published a statement shortly after the news was announced. The NHL commissioner wrote that “while we are all saddened as hockey fans that we will not be able to watch Henrik tend goal for the Capitals this season, we are also thankful that he will be getting the necessary medical care to deal with his heart condition. Henrik is a beloved player across the NHL and throughout his native Sweden and a wonderful ambassador for the game. We wish him and his family well.”

We’re all thinking of you during this difficult time, Hank. Get well soon.

Are we missing anything? Let us know in the comments.