Washington Capitals: Looking at Henrik Lundqvist in red

Henrik Lundqvist in Washington Capitals red.

2020 has been a weird year and one of the weirdest episodes of October featured the Washington Capitals signing Henrik Lundqvist. Now we’ve got the sight of him in Capitals red just weeks after he signed a one year deal worth $1.5 million that ended his 15 year run in New York with the Rangers.

Lundqvist tweeted out a video on Friday that not only showed that he’s still got it at age 38 but also donning a Caps red practice jersey along with Rangers goalie pants. I guess his Caps goalie pants haven’t arrived in the mail yet.

The Rangers bought out his contract after he had a career worst 3.16 goals against average and a .905 save percentage. It is unknown where the location was but his Twitter had mentions of both heartbroken Rangers fans and Ranger fans that wish him nothing but success in Washington as the King searches for his first Stanley Cup.

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The video also shows that he may be challenging Ilya Samsonov to the starting goaltending job and that the goalie position will be something to look for when training camp starts. It will also be good insurance in case Samsonov struggles. Samsonov only has 22 NHL starts under his belt and didn’t play in the bubble due to an injury in an ATV accident.

Brian MacLellan added Lundqvist to not only mentor Samsonov but step into a big role in case injury or struggle happen. Lundqvist has a strong work ethic and a competitive fire and will be great in a locker room featuring both Peter Laviolette at the helm and Alex Ovechkin as captain.

MacLellan talked more about Lundqvist to Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (subscription required):

“Henrik’s experience, his resume, his leadership ability, desire to win. A lot of things were attractive to our organization to bring him in. He has a big presence. The biggest thing is his desire to win a championship. It’s a big deal for our organization and for him, and it’s a good match overall.”

Lundqvist also has extensive playoff experience with 130 games, has led the Rangers to playoff wins over the Capitals and took the Rangers to the Cup final before falling short in 2014.

Whether he’s a starter or a backup, Lundqvist will be ready for whatever role is required of him. There’s hope that him and Samsonov could be a solid goalie tandem next season.