Lundqvist joins Capitals teammates for first time at informal skate

Henrik Lundqvist joined some of his new Washington Capitals teammates on the ice for the first time during an informal skate at their practice facility Monday.

The 38-year-old goalie signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Capitals on Oct. 9. Lundqvist played all 15 of his NHL seasons for the New York Rangers before they bought out the final season of his contract Sept. 30, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Wearing white pads and his new Capitals mask, which features images of the Capitol dome, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and American bald eagles, Lundqvist skated Monday with a group that included center Nicklas Backstrom, a good friend and frequent teammate on Sweden's national team, and left wing Carl Hagelin, who played for the Rangers from 2011-15. Also skating were goalie Ilya Samsonov, defenseman John Carlson, and forwards Tom Wilson, T.J. Oshie and Garnet Hathaway.

Lundqvist was 10-12-3 with a 3.16 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in 30 games (26 starts) last season. He also had a .901 save percentage in starting two games against the Carolina Hurricanes in the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers, which the Rangers lost in three games.
Washington signed Lundqvist to share the goaltending duties with Samsonov and be a veteran mentor to the 23-year-old this season after goalie Braden Holtby left the Capitals to sign a two-year, $8.6 million contract ($4.3 million average annual value) with the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 9.
Lundqvist had visited the practice facility with his family Oct. 18 while in the area looking for a place to live. Capitals players began skating there earlier this month in preparation for the start of the season. The NHL and the NHL Players' Association continue to target Jan. 1 for the start of the season but have not finalized plans or set a date for the opening of training camp.