And it may be happening in New York, where the biggest question of all next season will be whether Henrik Lundqvist wants to put up with this place much longer.
The word “tense” comes into play a lot during playoff hockey, but on Monday it took on a different meaning when Lundqvist used the past tense while describing his time with the Rangers. Given the opportunity to swear his allegiance forever to the sacred, diagonal logo — as did virtually every other free-agent-to-be — Lundqvist quite specifically avoided such a commitment.
“I’m gonna talk to my agent, and we’ll see,” Lundqvist said about potential contract talks. “You know, I had such a great time here in New York. From day one they treated me really well and have given me an opportunity to play a lot of hockey. It’s been a lot of fun. I have one more year on the contract. I’m just focused on — well, right now, I’m trying to get over this year — but we’ll see. I’ll talk to my agent and take it from there.”
Like Tortorella, Henrik Lundqvist has a year remaining on his contract and has an uncertain future with the Rangers.
Lundqvist chose to say “had” and “been,” when he might have employed “am having” and “is.” Those are sentences worth parsing. No matter where you stand on Tortorella, you surely know that Lundqvist is the most important element on this team. Tortorella’s relationship with Lundqvist, not his relationship with Brad Richards or Ryan Callahan, may become the single most important reason the coach is rehired or sent packing next season.
Next season.... I return... with a vengeance.
