Fansided

Every NHL team’s best active player still searching for a Stanley Cup win

By Kyle McKenna

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 19: Joe Thornton #19 of the San Jose Sharks spots the puck in front of the net of the New York Rangers during a NHL game at the SAP Center at San Jose on March 19, 2016 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Nick Lust/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 19: Joe Thornton #19 of the San Jose Sharks spots the puck in front of the net of the New York Rangers during a NHL game at the SAP Center at San Jose on March 19, 2016 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Nick Lust/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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New York Rangers

NHL fans alike shouldn’t have to think twice about which player on the New York Rangers is the best that’s still searching for his first Stanley Cup championship. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has been one of the league’s top goaltenders since strapping on the pads in the NHL back in 2005-06, but over a decade later the King finds himself Cup-less.

The one-time Vezina Trophy winner has been the face of the Broadway Blueshirts arguably since 2006, and his uncanny play between the pipes also earned him an Olympic Gold Medal for Sweden at the 2006 games.

It still may sound surprising, but the Swedish, native was a seventh-round draft pick by New York back at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. While Lundqvist has never recorded 40 or more wins in a season, he has posted 30 or more wins on 11 occasions.

No. 30 has played in the playoffs every year but twice in his career, and also lead the Rangers back to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 for the first time since 1994. His 431 career wins are good for eighth all-time, but are the most by any European born goaltender. “The King’s” save-percentage and goals-against-average have been solid, too. His career save-percentage is .919 and his GAA is a commendable 2.37.

The Rangers have been a legitimate Stanley Cup contender for a majority of Lundqvist’s tenure with in the league, but the two haven’t been able to get over the hump. Considering the 36-year-old has three more seasons left on his contract and with New York in a rebuilding phase, it’s hard to picture Lundqvist winning a Stanley Cup in the Big Apple.

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