Washington Capitals goalie Henrik Lundqvist announced on Thursday that he had been diagnosed with a heart condition. The former Rangers goalie posted on social media that the undisclosed issue with his heart will prevent him from playing this season.
Said Lundqvist: “I will not be joining the Capitals this upcoming season. After many weeks of tests and conversations with specialists around the country, it’s been determined that a heart condition will prevent me from taking the ice. Together we have decided that the risk of playing before remedying my condition is too high. So I will spend the coming months figuring out the best course of action. For the past 2 months I’ve been so inspired by the opportunity to play in DC and committed to my game, spending every day at the rink to prepare for the upcoming season. The news was very difficult to process but after the last test result earlier this week we knew there was only one way to go from here.”
The Capitals said in a statement: “The Washington Capitals are supportive of Henrik’s decision to step away from hockey at this time due to his heart condition. Our players’ health is of the utmost importance, and we stand behind Henrik’s decision. We want to wish him and his family all the best moving forward.”
The legendary goalie parted ways with the Rangers back in September after the team opted to buy out the final year of his seven-year contract. He signed on with the Capitals weeks later on a one-year, $1.5 million contract.
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