Henrik Lundqvist signs 1 year deal with the Washington Capitals
As speculated earlier this week, The King is now officially a Capital!
Lundqvist has signed a one year deal worth 1.5 million.
In September, Lundqvist was bought out by the New York Rangers, his only team for his entire 15-year career. Lundqvist won the Vezina in 2011-12 and backstopped his team to deep playoff runs in 2012, 2014, and 2015. But the Rangers’ team defense was never strong, and the team began developing younger goalies.
He has a record of 459-310-96 in 887 games, with a save percentage of .918, a 2.43 goals-against average and 64 shutouts. He is the franchise leader in all those categories.
The Capitals are parting ways with longtime goaltender Braden Holtby in free agency, turning to 23-year-old Ilya Samsonov as the primary starter for next season. With next year’s schedule in flux but expected to be condensed with plenty of back-to-backs, Lundqvist could get more starts than a backup typically has.
“I still love to compete. I still love the game and I still want to WIN,” Lundqvist tweeted four days after the Rangers buyout was announced.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtVBfR9-4cw