Dear Henrik Lundqvist,
From the moment I started watching hockey, it was your inspiring play in that 2012 Vezina season that turned me on until today. My first vivid memory was that season as a whole, and you carrying what to me as little hockey as I knew at the time, looked like a mediocre team with a herculean goaltender. Little did I know, that this man had been going strong for six seasons prior, rescuing this franchise from the depths of the league’s basement, and when I go back and watch that 15 round shootout victory against Washington in your rookie season, or your first NHL win against the Devils where the “HEN-RIK” chants were born, I realize we had a star in the making all along. Soon after I began watching you, I enrolled in a local weekly hockey league, and I was the goaltender on my championship team that would dictate the premise for a few seasons. But usually when I gave up a goal, I thought to myself “What would Hank do?”, and kept pushing just like you did. Your competitive-fire, drive to win was unmatched and it’s disappointing we couldn’t get you a Stanley cup, though that 2014 finals run, 2015 Presidents trophy season, and 2012-2017 playoff window that Rangerstown experienced was made possible by your presence, your performance, and your pride.
We’re a market that demands success and demand parades down the canyon of heroes, but we’re also about being “New York tough”, and proving relentless even when it looked bleak, and your demeanor fit right in with that mantra each and every night.
Your loyalty to us fans on and off the ice, your class when the pads were put away for the evening, and the authentic way you handled the media and the city throughout 15 years of New York Rangers hockey is why your getting this night. Your a staple in this franchises modern identity, and now will officially be recognized as a legend at the Worlds most famous arena.
Congratulations Hank and tHANKs #30.
-Marvin Azrak
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