"We do have a lot of skill in the room…a lot of hungry players…so that's a great combination."
-An excited @HLundqvist30 talks after the first full day of #NYRTC presented by @SAPSports. pic.twitter.com/kNUXllthz0— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 15, 2018
New York Rangers training camp is back and Henrik Lundqvist is excited to see what this season has to bring.
We all know that Henrik Lundqvist is the backbone of the New York Rangers. He chose to stay here despite the rebuild and is ready to get things going in 2018-19.
Addressing the media for the first time this season Lundqvist admitted that things feel a little different, but it was a good type of different.
“Well, we are gonna play a little differently so obviously these first couple of weeks it’d be huge to pay attention to a lot of the new details and how we want to play the game. The big thing is for us to understand how we want to play. And that’s the big, big focus the first couple of days.”
This is the first time during Lundqvist hall of fame type career that he and the Rangers do not have playoff expectations. So the question naturally was, what was his mindset coming into the season?
The answer was very simple, to just look at the team’s short-term goals.
“I don’t think we should look too far. We need to get a good camp, good start, and build off of that, then see who far it takes us.”
Following the conclusion of last season, there was some question about the 36-year-old’s knee. He would receive a knee injection at the end of last year, but that did not result in him changing his summer workout plan.
The change for Lundqvist was one by design. He added more skating to his workout routine while continuing to stay at the same weight of 180-to-184 pounds. The good news though, he feels 100 percent and does not think the team will have to manage the knee moving forward.
With the first practice out of the way, it was the first time players got to see David Quinn as a coach and the system he is trying put in place. Although Quinn’s system might not necessarily impact Lundqvist directly, Hank knows what he and the team have to do to be successful.
“Well, you can play many different ways in this league. I think the most important thing is everybody buying in, and being on the same page.”
We still do not know if there is going to a plan put in place for the number of games that Lundqvist will play this season. He’s played in 60 or more games in three of the last five seasons, despite plans to reduce his workload. Expect his workload to be a bit similar but, ultimately with an aging goaltender, the plan should be to give him rest throughout the year.
Preseason action is just two days away, Lundqvist is ready and so are we.
