Henrik Lundqvist, the star of Washington Capitals, will miss a whole season of NHL due to his heart condition. He will need a whole season to absolutely cure the problem.
On his social media site, Henrik Lundqvist also confirmed his absence in the upcoming season of NHL and expressed that he was so sorry about this missing. Washington Capitals announced this news on their Twitter as well.
“It’s still very hard for me to process all of this,” Lundqvist said on his video published on Twitter. The player then honestly confessed that it was sort of heartbreaking.
Lundqvist admitted that it has been such a tough period of time for him. The player said on his video that it was an “emotional week” for him. The former New York Rangers goaltender moved to Washington Capitals earlier this season, but sadly, he will not be with Capitals for the season of 2020-2021. Lunadqvist said that in the last few weeks, he has undergone several testing process before declaring such a bad news of missing a whole season.
“After lots of discussions with doctors around the country, and finally receiving the last results earlier this week, I unfortunately won’t be able to join the team this year,” he said on his video.
Though the player has an off-season, Lundqvist still receives a contract worth $1.5 million from Washington. As it has been said earlier, the player left New York Rangers earlier this season after 15 years contributing for the team.
Capitals owner, Ted Leonsis, also confessed his pity for Lundqvist. “I am only concerned and thinking about Henrik Lundqvist as a person and for his family’s wellbeing. We pray for his good health,” Leonsis said.
He said that his heart is breaking when he received the news about Lundqvist’s health status.
While Leonsis admired Lundqvist as a good player, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman described the player of Capitals as “a beloved player” and “wonderful ambassador” of NHL.
Bettman said that he is thankful that the player will receive the medical care that is needed and though he was sad, he hoped that he would be able to see Lundqvist play for Capitals soon.
New York Rangers, his former team, wished him the good things as well. In their social media post, Rangers describe Lundqvist as one of the best goaltenders of the league and the historic figure of Rangers.
“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,” the team wrote on their statement.
Throughout his career, Lundqvist was the finalist of Vezina Trophy for 5 times and he won the award in the season of 2011-2012.
Lundqvist appeared in 887 NHL games and made it to 130 play-offs. The player will skip a whole season ahead and cure his problem thoroughly.
I will spend the coming months figuring out the best course of action,” Lundqvist said.