Lundqvist set to have No. 30 retired by Rangers before game against Wild

NEW YORK --
Henrik Lundqvist
was at Madison Square Garden a week ago when he visited the suite where his family and friends will congregate for his number retirement ceremony Friday.

The former New York Rangers goalie went to the glass railing to look out at the ice. Directly above him when he gazed at his old throne were the banners of the 10 Rangers who have had their numbers retired, seven of them Hockey Hall of Famers, which Lundqvist eventually might become.
The magnitude of what's about to happen then hit him.
Lundqvist's No. 30 will join the fraternity of Rangers legends whose numbers hang in the Garden's rafters in a ceremony (6:30 p.m. ET) prior to New York's game against the Minnesota Wild on Friday (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, MSG+, BSN, NHL LIVE).
"Part of it feels a little surreal that it's actually happening," Lundqvist said during a sitdown interview for NHL.com and the "NHL @TheRink" podcast Monday. "Every time you get a text message or someone sends a video of something it takes you back to that year or a moment and you start thinking about the teammates, all the players, the different memories we created. That's what's so fun. It's been so fun leading up to this moment. It makes you realize that I'm so grateful for the whole journey."
The 39-year-old said he will have 60-65 family members in the building to watch his No. 30 rise to the rafters, where it will join Ed Giacomin's No. 1, Brian Leetch's No. 2, Harry Howell's No. 3, Rod Gilbert's No. 7, Adam Graves' and Andy Bathgate's No. 9, Mark Messier's and Vic Hadfield's No. 11, Jean Ratelle's No. 19 and Mike Richter's No. 35.
His family and friends are arriving from Sweden this week and there are more weekend activities planned around the number retirement ceremony.
Several former teammates also are expected to be in attendance.
"It's a moment where me and my family get an opportunity to share this with people that have been there along on the ride," Lundqvist said. "That's going to be very special to share the moment with everyone that in so many different ways have been part of it."
Lundqvist arrived in New York in 2005 as a 23-year-old, five years removed from being selected by the Rangers in the seventh round (No. 205) of the 2000 NHL Draft.
He was already an accomplished goalie in his native Sweden, a two-time Swedish Hockey League champion with Frolunda and a three-time winner of the Honken Trophy, the SHL's version of the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the best goalie in the NHL.
Lundqvist, though, came to the Rangers with one purpose.
"What mattered to me was the competition and measuring yourself against the best all the time, and I got that opportunity every day playing in this League," Lundqvist said. "That's why I wanted to come here and play, to measure yourself against the best."

He became the best goalie in Rangers history and one of the best ever in the NHL.
Lundqvist ranks sixth all-time in the NHL in wins (459), ninth in games played by a goalie (887) and 17th in shutouts (64). He also is fourth in save percentage (.918) and tied for eighth in goals-against average (2.43) among the 78 goalies in NHL history who played in at least 500 games.
He is New York's all-time leader in wins, games played by a goalie, shutouts and save percentage among those with more than 100 games played. He also is the Rangers leader in Stanley Cup Playoff wins (61), games played by a goalie (130), save percentage (.921) and shutouts (10).
"Where we're sitting I can almost see the Garden from here and that place has meant so much to me," Lundqvist said. "I've been so inspired by the building itself and what it means to walk in there every time. I felt so alive in that building. Yeah, it's hard to deal with that type of pressure sometimes, but I loved it. I felt very alive walking in there, like, 'OK, here we go,' that type of feeling. If it was a preseason game or Game 7 [in the Stanley Cup Playoffs], that pressure was always there and it was just awesome to feel it."
Lundqvist parted ways with the Rangers after the 2019-20 season, when they bought out the final season of his seven-year contract, which made him an unrestricted free agent for the first time.
He didn't think he could go anywhere else, wear any other jersey.
"It was hard at first," Lundqvist said. "I told my wife and closest friends, 'No, I can't do it, I'm not going to go anywhere, this is the only place I want to play.' But then I started going to the rink and I really enjoyed it and I was like, 'Wow, I really love this game, I want to compete.'"
He signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Washington Capitals with the intention of playing for them in 2020-21.
That never happened.
Lundqvist had an ailment that required open-heart surgery in January 2021. He got back on the ice in March but experienced inflammation that led to a stabbing pain, which eventually led to Lundqvist officially announcing his retirement Aug. 20.
"It's funny how I struggled for such a long time if I should go somewhere else and play for a long time," he said, "and then the decision was made for me."
Lundqvist, healthy and comfortable with his decision to retire, said it's not a coincidence his heart prevented him from playing for another team.
It was always in New York, he said.
"It became symbolic to me the way it happened," he said. "Since then I've obviously had a lot of time to think about my time here in New York and what that meant to me. Just very grateful."
He'll feel the love and hear those "Hen-rik, Hen-rik, Hen-rik" chants one more time Friday.
"I feel so connected to the organization and I will always feel connected, it doesn't matter if I work at 33rd Street or not," Lundqvist said, referencing the Rangers' Manhattan address. "I will always feel connected because they were such a big part of my life, an important piece of my life for such a long time."