New York Rangers Daily: Teasing Henrik Lundqvist; More devastating injury news for Devils
Watching Ryan Strome playfully rib Henrik Lundqvist on a TNT hockey broadcast Wednesday brought to mind so many memories of how the New York Rangers legend was often an easy target to tease during his reign on Broadway.
The perfect hair. The massive contract. The publicity photo shoots and TV appearances. The immaculate form-fitting (and expensive!) suits. The King.
“When you’re so perfect, it makes you an easy target in the locker room,” one long-time Rangers player told me with a laugh years ago when I worked for the team during Henrik’s Hall-of-Fame career.
I saw it play out plenty. And it was all good-natured fun, which Henrik understood.
“Hank, do you even own a tee-shirt?,” Dan Girardi once shouted over to the well-dressed goalie after practice. Then turning to me, Girardi laughed and said, ” Seriously, all these years, I’ve never seen him wear a tee-shirt. I don’t think he owns one. Who doesn’t own a tee-shirt?!”
There was the time the Rangers charter flight was delayed because the star goalie was shooting a commercial and the filming ran later than expected. Perhaps 30 minutes after expected departure, a helicopter touched down near the plane, out hopped a resplendent Henrik in designer shades, tailored suit.
When Lundqvist stepped on the plane, he was met with a chorus of boos and chants of “Fine! Fine! Fine!” referring to what it would cost him for arriving late to the team charter. It was all fodder for 10 minutes or so of light-hearted fun and laughs.
If you’ve ever entered a professional locker room, you know this is all part of the brotherhood. Henrik may have been the star, but he was far from immune from the jocular teasing that’s commonplace on a team.
Ultimately, the reason why it was all in fun is because no one worked harder at his craft than Lundqvist. No one cared more. Not a single teammate ever doubted Henrik’s commitment to the team and winning. So, none of this was mean-spirited.
Just good old fun. Like Wednesday, when Strome got in a dig on national television.
To that end, stay tuned for a piece I’m working on based on my conversation with Henrik’s longtime goalie partner Marty Biron and the intriguing evolution of their friendship. It’s pretty fascinating stuff and speaks to Henrik’s incredible intensity.
Coming soon, promise!
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New York Rangers news
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NHL news and rumors
More brutal injury news for the New Jersey Devils. GM Tom Fitzgerald revealed on a podcast that top defenseman Dougie Hamilton is out the rest of the regular season and not likely to return from an unspecified injury until the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That’s if the Devils last that long, considering they’re already without star center Jack Hughes the rest of the season because of shoulder surgery.
The Mikko Rantanen post-trade drama continued with the Dallas Stars forward denying reports that he provided the Carolina Hurricanes a list of teams he’d sign an extension with and that the Hurricanes weren’t one of them.
Former Rangers forward Patrick Kane recorded five points to help the Detroit Red Wings end a six-game losing streak, and pull even with the Blueshirts in the Eastern Conference standings, with a 7-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres.
JJ Peterka didn’t play for the Sabres and is day to day with a lower-body injury.
Things aren’t pretty in Buffalo, with many key Sabres players unhappy with all the losing and questionable roster decisions made over the years. The latest is on The Sheet podcast with Jeff Marek.
Injured defenseman Chris Tanev practiced again with the Toronto Maple Leafs and is “close” to returning to their lineup after battling an upper-body issue.
Calgary Flames captain Mikael Backlund was knocked out their game against the Vancouver Canucks in the first period with an upper-body injury.
Ville Husso made 36 saves in his Anaheim Ducks debut, but it was for naught when they lost to the Utah Hockey Club 3-2.
The Montreal Canadiens moved a point ahead of the Rangers in the East standings, but it could’ve been two. They blew a two-goal lead in the third period and lost to the Seattle Kraken 5-4 in overtime.
Watch Brandon Montour set an NHL record by scoring four seconds into overtime for the Kraken.
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