"Your time as an elite player is always closing from the moment you become a top player, but he still has that window open," Richter said following a Q&A with fans at the NHL Powered by Reebok Store in Manhattan on Wednesday. "I think he's a tremendous player. One thing that does happen, and you saw it with Martin Brodeur, is you get better as you go in terms of your experience and your understanding of the game. Most importantly is what you understand about yourself and what it takes to get yourself prepared."
Brodeur is the NHL leader in regular-season wins (691), shutouts (125) and games played (1,266). He also defied Father Time. From the time Brodeur was 34 years old in 2006-07 until he retired at 42 in 2014-15, he won 245 games with a 2.31 GAA and .913 save percentage. He also won the Vezina Trophy in back-to-back seasons at ages 34 and 35, and was third in Vezina voting at 37. At age 39 In 2011-12, Brodeur helped the New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup Final, going 14-9 with a 2.12 GAA and .917 save percentage in 24 postseason games.
"Playing at that level, at any level, is all about fulfilling your potential," Richter said. "You need to know what makes yourself click. And Henrik knows that. He's an absolute professional. He approaches every game to win it and to play his best. He gets that like few people do, and that's what makes him so consistent, so I do think there's plenty of fight left in him."
Critical to keeping Lundqvist going, according to Richter, is Rangers backup goalie Antti Raanta. Lundqvist started 64 games last season and 81 playoff games the past five seasons. Raanta is a solid No. 2 who went 11-6-2 with a 2.24 GAA and .919 save percentage in 25 games (18 starts), and is in line for a greater workload this season.
"If you don't have two strong goalies, it could be a real problem because you overplay the first one," Richter said. "Henrik, maybe the second problem is he's very competitive and wants to play all the games. But I think he's also mature enough to know there will be times where he'll benefit from the rest.
"The beautiful thing is [the Rangers] have a tremendous one-two punch in their goal. Both of them are world-class players. I don't think they can possibly feel they're not giving themselves a great chance to win [with] whomever's in net."