Henrik Lundqvist going to the Washington Capitals is a Ray Bourque redux

After being bought out by the New York Rangers, Henrik Lundqvist will be signing for his old rivals in the Washington Capitals for one last shot at a Stanley Cup.

In 2001, one of the greatest moments in NHL history took place when Ray Bourque lifted the Stanley Cup after 22 years with the Colorado Avalanche, not with the Boston Bruins he spent 21 years with. Nowadays, we could potentially have a modern-day version of that with Henrik Lundqvist.

The Washington Capitals have signed their old rival Henrik Lundqvist to a one-year contract worth $1.5 million, first officially reported by Bob McKenzie and made official by the team a short time later.

Lundqvist’s 15-year tenure with the Rangers was ended with a buyout in late September, making him a free agent while ending an era and making way for another with the drafting of Alexis Lafreniere with the first overall pick a week later. With Igor Shesterkin and Alex Georgiev proving themselves as the future of the Rangers, there was just no more room for Lundqvist anymore.

Henrik Lundqvist is a Rangers’ legend

The 38-year-old Lundqvist had done just about everything he could possibly do while a member of the Rangers with a Vezina in 2012, 11 playoff appearances in 12 years, 11 playoff series victories, three conference final appearances and a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2014. He is the team’s all-time leader in games played (887), wins (459), save percentage (.918) and shutouts (64), and is fifth all-time in wins by a goalie. The only thing left to accomplish is winning that elusive Stanley Cup.

There was some speculation that Lundqvist would perhaps retire after the buyout, but he quickly put that rest, claiming he still wants to win.

With Braden Holtby leaving in free agency, the Capitals were left with rising goalie Ilya Samsonov to take over in net but had an opening behind him as a backup. Lundqvist is obviously not the superstar that he was a few years ago but he is still more than capable of being an above-average goalie, and can easily succeed as a tandem starter with Samsonov in Washington.

The Capitals and Lundqvist have had their battles over the years, facing off in the playoffs on five separate occasions with the Capitals winning the first two and the Rangers taking the final three. Now they’ll join forces, as the Capitals championship window and Lundqvist’s career winds to a close, trying to get the King his first Stanley Cup in his 16th season.

It will obviously take some getting used to, seeing Lundqvist in a Capitals jersey, especially playing with Alex Ovechkin after all their heated battles in the playoffs, but it will be plenty worth it if this Capitals team can turn it around for one final run at the Stanley Cup and get King Henrik the crown he deserves.