Henrik Lundqvist told Rangers teammates he would be bought out or traded
Anthony Scultore
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The hurt was still fresh for the Rangers after getting swept by the Carolina Hurricanes. It was about to get deeper when Henrik Lundqvist addressed his teammates and said his goodbyes. According to Libor Hajek in a Czech interview today, “He said he didn’t know what would happen to him if the Rangers bought him out or went somewhere else.”
This article appeared on Forever Blueshirts
Henrik Lundqvist likely to be bought out
In what is expected to be a flooded goalie market that will have Marc-Andre Fleury, Matt Murray, and Darcy Kuemper on the block, it will be hard to trade Henrik Lundqvist.
That is why the chatter has him as a buyout candidate when the window opens soon. “It was hard for him,” Hajek added about Lundqvist’s farewell to his team.
The Rangers need to move on
In order for the Rangers to really move forward, the Henrik Lundqvist situation needs to be resolved. What we know in published reports and interviews with John Davidson is that Hank was informed the team will not carry three goalies next season.
I had a brief email exchange with Lundqvist’s agent and asked if there was any status update a few weeks back. In particular, I wanted to know who’s court the proverbial ball was in. “Any decision making by either side is simply between the parties,” Don Meehan told me.
Lundqvist came back to NY for the start of the school year over a week ago. It is a safe assumption that both sides have had some discussions, as to what exactly that is still unknown. A Lundqvist buyout will save the Rangers $3 million on the cap next season.