[propulsive, dramatic music playing]
Downloaded from YTS.MX
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[man in Swedish] What's the outfit?
[Henrik] Uh…
I'm going for black, double-breasted.
[heart monitor beeping]
[doctor in English] We've discussed the most recent testing,
and our thoughts and recommendations.
I just want to make sure if you have any questions.
[Henrik] If I was your brother, would you tell me not to play?
[doctor] I would.
[music intensifies]
[Henrik] Playing here for 15 years…
it was intense.
[announcer 1] What a save by Lundqvist!
[announcer 2] Goodness gracious! What a save!
[Henrik] Everything that's happened over the last year and a half…
I think tonight, I just…
I look forward to say "Thank you."
[woman] We're gonna go up and around.
How many people will be here tonight? Look at that!
You walk out here…
You're gonna walk over here.
-I'll be sitting here. -[woman] Yes, you'll be sitting there.
[announcer] Save by Lundqvist!
A couple of talking points for the press conference.
Let's all put our hands in the middle here.
-One, two, three… -[all] Team!
[doctor] We have to think about there's a risk of death with that,
a significant risk.
[crowd chanting] Henrik! Henrik! Henrik!
[Henrik] This is crushing.
[announcer] Returning to Madison Square Garden ice…
[beeping]
A Rangers legend…
[crowd chanting] Henrik! Henrik!
[announcer] A New York icon.
Number 30.
Henrik Lundqvist!
[crowd roaring]
[crowd chanting and clapping] Henrik! Henrik! Henrik!
[crowd noise halts]
[kids chattering and laughing]
[Henrik] I grew up in Åre,
a small town in the middle of Sweden.
It's dark when you go to school.
Then around 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon,
it starts getting dark again.
[somber music playing]
For sure, it affects people.
Maybe a little more reserved.
They talk less, a little slower.
But I think they think more before they speak.
[engine starts, revs]
[Henrik] For the longest time, I was seeking performance.
Now I'm seeking life.
And the search for what comes next
takes me back to the beginning.
To grow up with a twin brother,
we always wanted to do the same thing.
Everything we did, we competed.
We were born with it, like, the…
The enjoyment of competing.
-[in Swedish] Hey! -Hiya!
[woman in Swedish] Losing was not an option.
Maybe one won and the other had come in second,
and the one who won couldn't be happy because his brother was sad.
-My pulse is going up. -Yeah.
My heart rate went up, now that it's getting close to it.
[sighs]
[Henrik in English] It's hard to say why.
It was not like our parents pushed us to win or conquer.
[gentle music playing]
But at the same time, even at an early age,
it came down to try to win.
It was everything.
I do think back of how it started.
And the journey.
Different teams, different levels, national team,
and winning championships in Sweden,
for me to get the opportunity to play my first game
at Madison Square Garden.
[dramatic music playing]
A very exciting time in my life, being 23,
then suddenly I move across the ocean and start a new life.
[announcer] Winding. Big shot.
Glove save, Lundqvist!
Gomez to the net.
Save off the chest of Lundqvist.
Langenbrunner sets up McGillis.
Long shot. Save, Lundqvist.
John Madden to the net. Madden fakes, shoots.
Save, Lundqvist! He's got the puck!
[crowd] Henrik! Henrik!
[Henrik] I could hear the crowd chanting my name.
And it blew my mind.
Henrik!
It was absolutely deafening. Roof almost blew off the Garden.
[announcer] A terrific effort.
And the first NHL win for Henrik Lundqvist.
[crowd] Henrik!
I wanted to do even more every game I played.
-Because winning was so important. -[music intensifies]
[announcer] Dumont heads to the net! Dumont!
Save by Lundqvist! What a save!
The Rangers hadn't made the playoffs in eight years,
and here we were, this kinda ragtag group of guys,
and now all of a sudden, Hank's, uh, in the net
and just proving himself to be a superstar.
[announcer] Finds Zubrus, and a glove save!
What a save by Henrik Lundqvist!
Crowd goes nuts.
Cue the "Henrik" chant.
[announcer] Nice pass, inside. Lundqvist made a save!
Oh, what a play he made!
Henrik! Henrik! Henrik!
[Henrik] Hearing the crowd definitely cut through.
It goes deep.
It goes all the way into your heart, and you get warm, excited.
-[crowd] Henrik! -[announcer 1] He's a rock star.
[announcer 2] The crowd loves him here at the Garden.
[announcer 1] I think he likes it too.
It's a dream come true for an organization like New York
where you need that anchor
to start rebuilding and have something special.
And immediately you had that in this kid.
[crowd] Henrik!
[Henrik] My first year in New York,
it really felt like I was living my dream.
I got to play in the NHL.
And I also got an opportunity to play for my country, Sweden,
in the Olympics.
[dramatic music playing]
With his kind of close-knit identification with Sweden,
I thought it was so cool, he goes back, changes jerseys…
"I'm here to win a gold medal."
[announcer in Swedish] Lundqvist has to play his best game of the tournament.
[in English] We go up 3-2, early, third period.
And then Finland tried to push and come back.
[announcer] Moves in, a drive off of Lundqvist's shoulder!
[Henrik] Just being that close to winning Olympic gold,
30 seconds to go and-and the adrenaline is so high.
And the puck comes down…
[announcer] Out of the bench area comes Selänne.
Has it scale to the half boards and battled for there.
Threw one in front! Save, Lundqvist!
And in that moment,
there's a Finnish player standing there, and he has a wide-open net.
[announcer] Save, Lundqvist! Scramble in front!
It was more a desperation move to get across and reach for it.
[announcer] Oh! Jokinen a shot!
Save remarkably made by Lundqvist!
[Henrik] And then we managed to clear the puck,
and the last few seconds, the clock ticking down, five…
[announcer] Four seconds, and three, the gold goes to Sweden!
[crowd cheering]
[Henrik] And you can just feel your body's about to
explode with emotions.
That's what hap… When you win,
you know, that rush is something that's, uh…
It's incredible.
[man] You had a great match. Congratulations.
I think that put him on the map, a bit more than,
"Wow, this is a good young player for New York."
This is a superstar in the league.
[announcer] And saved by Lundqvist!
-Rangers win it! -[crowd cheering]
Henrik Lundqvist gets his 29th win,
and ties the Rangers' rookie record.
You had him in there, playing the way he played.
It literally turned the whole trajectory of the New York Rangers franchise.
[intense music playing]
All of it.
"It" factor, swag, confidence,
belief, technique, competitiveness…
He was "box office" from the jump.
Know what it is to be "box office" at Madison Square Garden?
-[audience cheering] -[rock band playing]
-How are you? -What's up? What's up?
Do the other goalies dress as well as you?
Um…
Yes and no. There's some guys that try.
[Michael] You can say it. No, they don't.
-They don't! -They don't.
[playing "Sweet Child O' Mine" riff]
Henrik Lundqvist, everybody!
-The NHL returns on Saturday! -[audience cheering]
Loves New York.
Loves being a New Yorker. Family loves it here.
[Dan] He fit in like any movie star, actor, model…
He belonged here. He's a New Yorker through and through.
[Henrik] Over time, I developed these connections
and feelings for New York.
It was something that I loved.
I remember Larry Brooks wrote it,
"King Henrik" in the New York Post, and…
A couple of people yelled at me on the street one day.
I started laughing and didn't think much of it,
then the next week, same thing.
I was like, well, at some point, they gotta stop.
But it didn't.
[soft piano music playing]
["The King" by Sarah Kinsley playing]
[announcer] Does he cover or does he shut the net down?
He shoots, right in front again, another shot!
[crowd] Henrik! Henrik! Henrik!
[announcer] What a stop by Henrik Lundqvist!
What a save by Lundqvist!
Henrik Lundqvist!
♪ I wanna be the king ♪
♪ Of your heart ♪
♪ Let's fall apart and start again ♪
♪ You'll see the end of me… ♪
[announcer] What a stop by Henrik Lundqvist!
Hamhuis centers there, deflection! Rebound chance!
Oh, what a glorious save that was!
Another stop by Henrik Lundqvist!
♪ I wanna be the king ♪
Okay, guys. Thank you so much.
[man] Good luck, Henrik. Go get 'em.
[song ends]
[Henrik] For the next eight, nine years,
the team was getting better, we were winning more.
Winning to me brought so much joy…
Excitement.
Try to get closer to that big win that we all wanted.
[somber music playing]
And the one win we really wanted was the Stanley Cup.
To feel really 100% complete,
I needed that win.
[somber musical continues]
[announcer] Racing after the puck is Gustafsson, out of the box!
And he shoots! He scores!
-Lundqvist hesitated. -[goal horn blaring]
First round against the Flyers,
we had an opportunity to win Game 6,
and move on to the second round.
We lost.
[announcer] Flyers win it 5-2.
And we head to a Game 7.
So I definitely felt the pressure to come back with
a strong performance in Game 7 the next day.
[announcer] Carried on now for Giroux, tried to fight his way by.
Deflects one in front, gloved down by Lundqvist!
It rattled on down for Voráček, around in front,
and it's fought off by Lundqvist and he's able to cover!
Blocked away confidently there by Lundqvist.
-[crowd chanting] Henrik! -[announcer] Rangers win Game 7,
and will move on to face the Pittsburgh Penguins.
[announcer] And peeling off and backhanding one directed on goal,
and a save, remarkably made!
When it's a tight game,
and everything is on the line for a championship,
you can feel that every save matters,
and that's a great feeling as a goalie.
That pressure…
[announcer] Lundqvist with a remarkable stop!
Your focus is there and…
It's just all that's in your head is,
"Stop the next shot."
"Stop next shot. Stop next shot."
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] Oh! Lundqvist somehow keeps it out on the attempt by Vanek!
What a save!
Hank was, like, making the most incredible saves,
playing absolutely out of his mind.
[crowd cheering]
[Dominic] Game 6 against Montreal,
Hank makes this miraculous save
where the puck changes directions in midair.
[somber music continues]
That save was what brought us to the Stanley Cup Finals.
[dramatic music playing]
["The Star-Spangled Banner" plays faintly]
[Henrik] We felt confident.
We really believed we can win.
It was our time.
[announcer] Willie Mitchell shoots! Lundqvist the save!
Rebound bounces in front of the net!
The difference there between winning and losing,
it was so small.
[announcer] Jarret Stoll in front of net. Tipped right on. Rebound.
Williams batted at it!
[Henrik] Game 5 went to overtime.
But I remember that last play in overtime.
It was coming down the wing…
[announcer] Starting back up with it now is Martinez in a three-on-two.
And they shot it…
[dramatic music continues]
And it hit our D-man,
and as soon as it hit our D-man,
I knew I was in trouble.
As soon at it hit our D-man and it changed direction,
I just… that bad feeling, a cold feeling…
It's almost like your body stops a little bit, quick.
You get a little cold, and you know
you're in trouble.
You know, when you know something… [chuckles]
Something bad is about to happen
before it happens.
[announcer] Here's Martinez…
For a shot, saved, rebound, scores!
-[goal horn blaring] -Alec Martinez!
With the Stanley Cup winning goal!
[horn blaring]
[emotional music playing]
[Henrik] Really wanted to win, and we were close.
I think part of me will always hurt.
We had a window of a few years where we were right there.
But there's so many things that need to fall into place
for it to happen and…
You know…
It just didn't happen.
[somber music playing]
I mean, I hated the feeling.
It was part of my life, I guess.
Since I was a kid, every time I lost, I felt terrible.
When he won, he felt great.
When he lost, he felt like shit, so…
I mean, he put that pressure on himself, and he lived that way.
[Eva in Swedish] When Henrik gave up a soft goal, I understood that it hurt him,
so it hurt me too.
[announcer in English] Karlsson across. Nice pass through. Score!
[in Swedish] If the goal goes in, you hear it from the stands.
"He should have gotten that one," or something like that. It hurts.
[announcer in English] Some frustration setting in.
I remember in Frölunda, he kicked in a toilet door.
[announcer] And Lundqvist wanted a whistle, and didn't get it,
so he does this.
[Dominic] I felt bad for the soap dispensers in the shower.
You could hear him cursing in Swedish from, you know, down the hall.
You know, after a loss, it was, uh,
kinda stay clear, let him get over it.
His wife Therese would try to say something funny just to cheer him up.
And the rest of us, we would laugh,
but he would give us the stare down,
like, "Hey, let's not laugh here, we just lost."
[Henrik] My wife knew this,
and that could definitely carry over to the next morning, too, for breakfast.
People say,
"Hey, it's just a game."
But to me, it was not just a game.
It felt like it was life.
The next year, we were right there again.
And after that, slowly,
you could feel our window was closing.
The team started to change a little bit.
Players were leaving.
And we were winning less.
He would still play well and they'd lose. He would play amazing and lose.
And slowly but surely,
they decided, all right,
now's the time to start breaking this thing down.
[reporter] Veteran goalie Henrik Lundqvist,
who has played all 13 seasons of his NHL career with the Rangers,
is committed to sticking around for the rebuilding process.
He said, "There's no other place I want to be."
"I feel great, excited to be back here and just see how far
we can take this forward this year."
I made my commitment.
You know, I want to stay in New York, I want to work through this,
and come back on the other side in a way,
and be part of that competitive team.
And I could just sense that that was not really the plan.
So my last appearance at the Garden was a third period.
[crowd cheering]
[whistle blows]
I came in in relief.
[arena horn blowing]
I didn't know at the time that that would be
my last period at the Garden. [chuckles]
The Rangers clearly wanted to move on from Hank
to make room for the next generation of players,
which wasn't easy for him, and it wasn't easy for them
because he was an icon for the Rangers organization.
[contemplative music playing]
You could kinda see the writing on the wall, but it was more…
"It's time for you to move on."
Um…
[contemplative music continues]
[Henrik] There's something about
being in a car and…
Just drive.
You don't know where you're going and…
I think throughout my life,
I was always going somewhere.
[phone line ringing]
[man in Swedish] Hey, it's Jimmy.
Hi, it's Hank.
[Jimmy] Hey. How are you today?
[in English] Athletes have the same mind as you,
but they probably use it in a different way,
and focus more on one thing.
Like determined,
"This is the thing that's most important for me,"
and then they focus on that.
And instead of doing multiple things,
they stay with the things that's most important.
[Henrik] It was funny, I started talking to Jimmy.
In our first meeting, you know, he says, "What do you want?"
Well, right away, I said, "I-I want to be happy."
"Well, that's a choice."
I said, "Not for me."
[Jimmy in Swedish] It is quite rare to have the kind of career that you've had,
staying in one place for so long.
Yes.
[in English] Sometimes, we don't remember that,
"I'm a man and I'm here to have a human experience."
"And what kind of experience would I like to have?"
[Henrik] It was hard for me to feel like
the plan that I had was not gonna…
Um…
It was not gonna be that way.
Um…
[sighs]
[Jimmy] It sounds a bit funny, but it's really the case that when we have an image
of how we should be,
and when we feel like we didn't achieve what we had envisioned,
this can become very challenging.
Exactly that.
[Henrik in English] I realized that I need to change
my system a little bit.
Change the way I saw happiness, in a way.
Like, I couldn't continue,
you know, depend on success to be really happy.
I wanted to be happy for no reason.
[waves lapping gently]
[Jimmy in Swedish] I've been thinking about winning and losing.
Isn't the definition of what winning is
based on what you, yourself, want it to be?
I think it depends on how you define what winning is.
What do you think? Then it's about what you experience--
You can feel like a winner, even if you don't win all the time.
But, in the end…
it becomes quite clear if you've won or not.
One could say that you've won New York's heart.
As an athlete, you are very much appreciated in New York.
Uh…
Yes.
Then you've won.
[dramatic music playing]
[Henrik in English] So, part of the rebuild,
the next generation of players,
I was free to go
somewhere else to play,
or hang it up.
I was definitely leaning towards retirement.
I struggled so much, going back and forth,
"Should I play? Should I not?"
I couldn't really see myself play anywhere else.
I had a conversation with him.
And he said, "What calls an athlete
is the reason you got involved in the first place."
It's the love of the game.
The hunt to be great.
And you've worked your whole life.
The muscle between your ears is the strongest it's ever been.
Hank had achieved so much, but he was a better goalie.
His reads were better, his understanding of the game was better.
And so to give that up after literally a lifetime of work
is really, really difficult to do.
And you could hear that in his voice.
I still felt like I should go to the rink and just try it out.
So I started going to the rink up in Jersey.
Skating every day,
and I realized how much I love the game and how much I love to compete.
So I decided, "No, I want to play."
I heard there was a lot of rumors about him
maybe signing here with the Washington Capitals.
Going to the Capitals seemed like the perfect fit.
Here they were with an outstanding core of players.
They're a consistent contender that could use a goalie.
[Henrik] I decided to sign in Washington. I felt like this is a new chapter.
[distant siren wailing]
[indistinct chatter]
[Therese snorts, laughs]
He was calling me, and I could hear in his voice
how excited he was about, you know, a change of scenery,
coming to a team that was competing for the Cup.
[girls laughing]
Checking out the new surroundings.
[girl] Daddy!
It looks good.
And the girls are doing gymnastics.
And over here, we've got, uh…
the big house.
We all thought it was gonna be a bit of a facelift for him
to kinda go from a rebuilding team to a team that was competing.
Our goal was to win the Cup.
And he knew that this team was one of the teams
that had the opportunity to do it that year.
[bright music playing]
They were looking around for a place to live.
They actually stayed at my house.
Their entire family stayed over, they're all excited.
[girls laughing]
When he signed with us, he came here, he skated.
[mellow music playing]
Everyone was pumped up for the King to come here.
You could see how hard he was working.
The guys were really saying, "Okay, this guy is the real deal" in practice.
[Nicklas] He looked great, and he looked motivated.
He didn't let in a lot of goals, that's for sure.
It was a good chance for him to be our number one goalie.
[blows air] Yo, expectations in D.C.,
"Yeah, we're ready to go."
"Now we get Henrik Lundqvist?"
"Step on the gas."
I also wanted to prove to myself and to other people
that I could still do it.
You know, it was a bumpy, bumpy end…
in New York, so I felt like I had a lot more to give.
-Checking in for blood work. Lundqvist. -[woman] Name?
L-U-N-D-Q-V-I-S-T.
When you get signed by a new team,
you do physical testing and you go over everything.
[monitor beeping]
And they could hear something, so I had to go in for a test.
And they found, uh,
a leak, um, in my heart.
[tense music playing]
For a long time, I knew I had a condition.
A small issue.
Never thought about it.
No symptoms.
Felt great on the ice.
I did notice that fall, though,
every time I was home, walking up the stairs,
I got really… I got tired.
Um, that was the only time I really thought about it.
On the ice, I'm used to getting tired, so I didn't think much of it.
And there was a lot of tests.
Scans and conversations with different doctors.
[Carl] They had to do some tests.
He didn't really specify what was going on,
but, uh, he came home one day
and you could see there was something going on.
He was kind of chatting… chatting with his wife, Therese, quietly.
And I could see that there was… You could sense there was something wrong.
And I remember…
I went downstairs to pack my bags,
brought up all the big bags to make the move
in two days.
Um…
And we had a big call with the doctors,
and all the tests came back.
[doctor] The aorta being that size concerns us
particularly in someone who is playing, you know…
I appreciate that you're a goalie, you have protective padding,
but there's still a potential to take some hits there.
Not far behind that in my mind is,
is the narrowing of that aortic valve.
With the aorta, the risk is dissection, tearing of the blood vessel.
There's a risk of death with that,
a significant risk.
But then the narrowing of the valve,
the risk is you're not getting enough blood supply
to the heart muscle
when you're exercising at the very extremes.
And that can increase the risk of abnormal rhythms and sudden death.
[Henrik] If… If…
If I was your brother…
would you tell me not to play?
[doctor] I would.
[Henrik] Yeah.
[soft, emotional music playing]
Uh… [clears throat]
[breathing over phone line]
[Henrik's voice breaks] Um…
Uh, what-- what about…? [sighs]
Like surgery?
Um…
[sighs] Is there anything you could do now, and then…?
You know, how long is the process to get back after surgery?
[doctor] I think this is a pretty big surgery for you.
And the idea of coming back
is probably not something in your best interest
after a big surgery like this.
[emotional music swells]
[Henrik sighs deeply]
Oh, it's hard, man, I've been so…
inspired and motivated.
This is crushing.
[emotional music continues]
[crowd cheering]
[Henrik] Me not playing hockey, who…
Who am I?
[cheering continues]
[Jimmy in Swedish] And then it's like, if we take self-esteem, what's that for you?
[gentle music playing]
Self-esteem.
Um…
Our thoughts about ourselves.
[Henrik] The idea of ourselves. Yes.
[Jimmy] If we have dominant thoughts about ourselves, that we are valuable
and we are worthy of what we want, we think highly of ourselves…
then the probability is higher for us to choose to be…
loving to ourselves, of course, but also to be able to make decisions
and commit to actions that promote that.
[in English] It was hard to believe
that it was happening when it happened
'cause everything was just falling into place…
But it was definitely challenging mentally
to deal with those emotions and…
not to get angry or…
too disappointed.
The next step was just to
figure out where and when to have the surgery.
And through our conversations with…
um, the different doctors,
Cleveland Clinic and Dr. Roselli sounded like the best option.
I connected with the other docs involved in the case,
talked with them, made sure we had a nice communication going on.
And then I connected with Henrik and his wife.
You probably had an even more abnormal valve
than the typical bicuspid valve.
And the calcium has kind of built up
all across that valve.
And so that explains why your valve
has failed at such a young age.
Thirty-eight is really young.
I know they're telling you after 15 years in New York, you're going to--
you're an old goaltender, they're telling you.
But you're a young man.
-You're really young, okay? -[Henrik] Yeah.
[Eric] And I'd love to see you play hockey again.
But if we let your heart fight against that valve
that's not opening very well for too long,
you can develop changes in the muscle of your heart
that will limit your overall lifespan.
Basically, your heart is working like someone
that's exercising kinda all day long,
even when you're just sitting here at rest.
Because your heart's fighting against that valve that doesn't open.
And then the concern is when you're really pushing yourself hard,
like you do in a game,
if your heart hits the sort of peak where you just can't get enough
blood flow to that heart
that's now thickened and kind of working so hard,
you could have a really bad problem, you know.
You could die from that.
We got to either do something about your valve,
or put your game at rest.
Hey, Caps fans. Um…
Today is a pretty emotional and tough day.
Um…
For several weeks now,
I've been undergoing different types of tests
related to a heart condition.
And after lots of discussions with doctors around the country,
and finally receiving the last results early this week,
um, I unfortunately won't be able to join the team this year.
[somber music playing]
There's no point of getting ahead of myself
or trying to figure out how it was gonna be. I just…
Let's make the most of Christmas and New Year's,
and then prepare for Cleveland when it's time to do that.
[jubilant laughter]
[in Swedish] What a party!
What a year, wow!
Cheers, happy new year!
We're at the party of the year!
-Take care. -No, we're not.
-Hang up now, she's not filming-- -He's crazy!
Nobody is watching this.
[in English] Crazy!
[in Swedish] He's crazy!
[Henrik] New Year's Eve, 2020.
-Hello, Charlise. -Hi.
[Henrik] Juli? What do you think has been good in 2020?
What's good is that we're about to build a new apartment.
That's exciting!
[Henrik] A new home. Our new home.
[in English] I needed the surgery. The question was,
"How fast?"
Uh, we probably could have waited a few months,
but I told them, "Let's do it as quick as possible
so I have time to get back."
[jet engine idling]
[Henrik] Hola!
-[Charlise] Hola! -[Henrik] Hola?
-Amigos! -[Juli] This is my background.
[Henrik] Hola.
Hola!
Hi!
-[engine roaring] -Cleveland, here we come!
[woman] So you can have one designated visitor.
They want it to be the same person, so it sounds like it's gonna be your wife.
[Henrik] Yup.
[woman] She can come with you the day of surgery
and then stay here in the hospital while you're in surgery,
and meet with Dr. Roselli
and then be able to see you after surgery.
[Henrik] Okay, great.
And then
I went into my bubble.
I've had a lot of injuries, but nothing with the heart.
And it felt so much scarier,
and just talking about how they're going to do it.
[tense music playing]
[Kevin] You see him as being superhuman, right?
Does anybody ever see Superman get surgery? No.
You ever see Wonder Woman get surgery? No.
So now you're seeing something that's a completely different movie.
And not movie, reality!
[in Swedish] It was a tough surgery.
I know this, I'm a physiotherapist.
I know how a heart works.
I knew what was wrong with him.
I knew it was a very dangerous operation.
Major surgery.
[music fades]
[heart monitor beeping steadily]
-[hospital din sounds, fades] -[beeping continues]
-[rapid beeping] -[heart monitor beeping continues]
-[surgeons chattering] -[beeping continues]
-[whirring] -[scattered beeping sounds]
[steady beeping continues]
[faint sighing voice]
[door opens]
-[Therese] Hello. -[Eric] Hi.
We're all done. Everything went great.
-[Therese] Okay, great. -No problems at all.
-Oh, thank you. -Yeah, his valve was awful,
-as we expected. -Oh, yeah? Yeah.
Um, I think he's really gonna feel a whole lot better now…
-[Therese] Great. -…with the new valve.
I mean, there's no question this was the right thing to do.
[Therese] I've been so nervous the whole day! Oh!
I can breathe again.
-[Eric] Yeah. -Right? A little at least?
-Yeah. -[Therese] Yeah.
The next thing I know is that I wake up and I see Therese.
And I said, "How was your day?"
[chuckles]
Her day was very different to mine.
I think she had a tougher day than me.
[in Swedish] It was pretty easy somehow after the surgery…
my daily life.
Why do you think that is?
I thought almost nothing about the future at first.
I think you were just happy to be alive.
Yes.
He was doing great at first,
and then he had a stage when he couldn't eat or anything.
I just said, "You have to get up."
"You have to get up and walk. You have to get on your feet."
You can't lie in bed and just say, "I can't take it, I can't take it."
"I don't want to eat, I don't want to walk."
"Up!" I said.
"Now you just have to walk."
[in English] To see him in FaceTime and hear him, how he talked,
and how he moved,
uh, from a top athlete to that, it was…
It was tough.
Get up and walk with a walker, and get the heart working a little bit.
And after a few days, I managed to walk
all the way around the front desk.
[woman] I'm sure we'll kick you guys out of here soon. Get home.
[Henrik] You could feel the progress.
Even though if they were small, it was still a boost for your confidence.
[woman] Hold your horses.
[Henrik] It felt like a game almost,
like how focused I was on recovery.
[indistinct chatter]
[walker wheels rattling]
[gentle music playing]
[Henrik] It was, um…
strange.
Strange to be there and to go through it.
But in a way,
I kinda locked all the emotions until
I left the hospital.
They looked so cute. [chuckles softly]
They looked amazing.
[indistinct chatter]
[gentle music continues]
[Henrik] And now it felt like all those emotions,
the stress and fear and sadness, maybe, I don't know,
need to come out.
[Juli] Why's it so cold out here?
Played for three minutes,
and then take two-minute break.
[chuckles, sighs]
Step by step, right?
Nice weather in Cleveland right now.
[girls chattering]
The whole experience was overwhelming.
I was crying.
And I couldn't really tell why I was crying.
I was just crying for…
a couple hours a day.
And then when you let that wall down, that's when you really…
Oof.
You let it all out.
Past nine days, uh…
Pretty challenging.
Uh…
[clears throat] I experienced things
I didn't think I would experience in my life.
Um…
But it's a good challenge now
to see
how I can come back, what level.
Then we'll see if there will be more hockey or not, but…
It'll be a slow process, especially the first few weeks.
I don't know if it was
because I worked on myself throughout the year,
that it wasn't hard to feel lucky and grateful.
It wasn't hard at all.
-[jet engine idling] -Uh, day 13…
since, uh, surgery.
Uh, checkup yesterday at hospital was great.
Everything looked good.
Time to go back to New York and start rehab.
Um…
And we'll see how long it takes.
It's been kind of a crazy experience, that's for sure. Uh…
Sometimes I look at the scar, and it's…
kinda surreal that it happened, but it did.
Let's move forward.
What do you think? It's been a good trip, right?
Turned it into a nice family vacation.
-Did we, though? -Did we, though? [laughs]
All right.
See you, Cleveland.
[jet engine roaring]
It's been good.
Time to recover.
[in Swedish] Right after the operation, I lived so much in the present
that I didn't think much about things that needed to be done,
or what had happened, either.
I was just there, and that was a sense of calm…
I want to recreate that all the time.
[in English] It's almost two and half weeks.
Uh, it's time for my daily workout.
I walk around the apartment.
[laughs]
They told me the first focus should be of you coming back
as a human being,
and not as a hockey player.
I think part of me is like,
"Yeah, yeah."
"But I will come back as a hockey player."
Can't really use my arms too much.
Still healing my chest here for another three, four weeks.
I love a good challenge.
And to try to come back
and see if I can play at a high level,
that was my goal.
Trying to stay positive and…
um…
Yeah, I'll keep walking.
[somber music playing]
So the procedure is, you know, they open up your chest,
and they replace a piece of your valve.
And they put in a tube that replaced part of your aorta.
The one concern, obviously,
when you open up your chest is, um, contact.
You gotta be careful, you know…
So not allowed to drive for a while,
or obviously be on the ice for a while
after surgery because of contact.
But I did ask about that,
and he said, "We're going to put in a couple of extra plates,
so don't worry about that." [chuckles]
I guess cause it's Henrik Lundqvist,
and I'm thinking about him having, you know, um,
hockey pucks fired at his chest.
[Henrik] How many plates did you put in there?
-Was it, like, a couple? -[Eric] Three.
-Looks pretty good. -Yeah.
I mean, it's strong and everything, but…
[Henrik] I don't think Therese was 100% convinced
that I should be back playing at some point.
But that was my goal. It really was.
[hopeful music playing]
After the biggest shock went away…
[dog grumbles]
…it's a good feeling when you feel like,
"It's up to me now to make the next step."
It's up to me.
Every day I felt a little better.
And talking to the doctors,
"You feel like that? Now you can add this."
After almost seven weeks,
that's when I felt like I was ready to be back on the ice.
And that was an incredible feeling.
Put my gear on and be out there and…
I couldn't believe it.
Like, this guy actually got up off open-heart surgery…
44 whatever days ago, and he's back on the ice,
looking like nothing happened.
Who does that?
The love for the game was just so strong.
I'm on the ice here in New York.
I skated for a month and I felt great.
Every day, every week, I felt better and better,
stronger and stronger and…
By then, I started talking to Washington about,
"I'm gonna join you guys, I'm coming back," and…
um…
"It will happen."
[breathing rapidly]
And one day, I…
just feel massive pain in my chest,
out my back.
It felt like someone stabbed me almost.
[tense music playing]
Um, felt sick for four or five days.
I wasn't sure if I'd pulled something.
I thought maybe because they opened up my chest,
that I pulled a muscle or something.
And this is the same week I was about to join Washington
to come back to playing.
And at the same time, I had my three-month checkup
in Cleveland for my surgery.
On a Friday,
I'm going to Cleveland for my three-month checkup.
I'm flying back to New York, packing, and on that Sunday,
I'm going to Washington.
[over PA] At this time, we start boarding our Comfort Plus.
Comfort Plus, you are welcome to board at this time.
Go to Cleveland and…
Bunch of tests.
And we found that I had pericarditis,
which is inflammation around your heart.
And it went from
flying back to New York, pack my car, and go to Washington to…
pretty much, "Don't move for three months."
[Eric] Pericarditis is very symptomatic.
And the real bummer for him is when you increase your activity,
you can irritate the space around the heart.
And that sets the pericarditis off,
so we had to have him just really kind of relax and calm down.
[man] We told him it's time to dial back,
and really be virtually inactive, other than walking the kids to school,
for another three more months.
It's not constant. It's more like when I move,
it feels like there's some pressure sometimes or…
But it's not constant so it could be for just a little bit
when I move around.
And then it's gone, but then I feel it again,
but it's not every day and it's not…
-Like, I don't feel anything now. -[Michael] Okay.
In patients that have pericarditis, we have some new options available.
But they're very high-end biologicals
that require injections.
And they require a long course.
So the injections would be at least once a week
for at least a year.
And that would have hopefully kept this at bay
while he returned to higher intensity exercise,
to potentially allow him to return for another season.
But you have to be willing to inject yourself every week.
And you have to be willing to then
also realize that this still might not get me back there.
[somber music playing]
[Henrik] I was so irritated,
angry,
disappointed.
I felt so off.
There was so much
going on in my head.
With the surgery, there was a plan.
But here I was, and there was no plan.
I was…
a little lost.
[music intensifies]
Decided to go for a few days Upstate…
to gather my thoughts a little bit.
[wind blowing]
Little pit stop.
[groans] Time to reset a little bit.
[somber music continues]
[birds twittering faintly]
[Henrik] To be here and not to be disturbed by anything,
that was essential for…
for my process.
[water babbling gently]
[Henrik] The hardest part,
if you have to make a decision,
if you don't know if it's the right or wrong decision.
Throughout my career,
a big part of my time went to analyzing my game.
I didn't spend a lot of time analyzing myself.
I felt like I wanted to change myself
and adjust my outlook.
[birds twittering]
I used to, a lot when I played, to center myself,
just look at one spot.
And in the beginning, first few seconds, my thought is everywhere,
and there's a lot of things going on.
But eventually,
it's just a spot.
And there's no thoughts.
And it's kinda what I do here, is center myself by just…
looking at one place and eventually
everything else just goes away.
[Henrik] The guy that drove out of Manhattan was
irritated…
disappointed…
[car engine roaring]
And then the man that came back was
happy, relaxed, and in peace.
[in Swedish] I just needed time to…
get that energy out, I think.
It felt a bit like that, get the negative energy out of my body.
[Jimmy on phone] Yeah.
And that negative energy…
was that connected to your expectations and what you had envisioned,
and when it didn't turn out that way, it became a lot to deal with?
Yeah. Exactly.
[in English] It's funny how life works.
You know, I struggled for a long time…
if I should play anywhere else, if I should…
you know, wear another jersey,
and I decide to do it and I'm all excited, and then
the heart just said, "No."
Uh, twice.
[somber music playing]
And I saw the images, I saw how much inflammation.
This inflammation, it could take five months,
but it could take years.
[music fades]
That's when I really felt like
it was not meant to be.
[rain pattering]
All right, August 17th,
2021.
I think it's time for my last practice.
Decided to…
hang it up.
It's just, uh… it's too complicated.
With the inflammation and… [sighs]
Yeah, it's time to do something else.
It's been fun.
Fun ride.
But let's, um, move on.
[soft, emotional music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[emotional music continues]
[crowd cheering]
[music fades]
[Henrik] So I made the decision to retire.
I'm done.
[in Swedish] The rehabilitation had not gone as he had hoped,
so then we all had to come to terms with that.
[in English] I have felt it in here. Like, okay, I-I…
It's just to take it in and realize,
"Okay, if this happened to me, what would I feel?"
"What would I go through?"
[solemn music playing]
[Joel] Like I said, he had a tough journey.
[gulls calling]
[Henrik in Swedish] Captain Erik.
[Erik] All is well?
[Henrik] I'd say so. How are you?
[Erik] Great.
[in English] The summer in Sweden starts
when Henrik and his family comes home to Sweden.
That's-- That's like a mark.
"Okay, summer is here."
"Lundqvist just got home."
[in Swedish] Yes, I can already feel myself getting relaxed.
It's hard not to, on a day like this.
[Erik in English] We spoke a lot about his body.
And I read a book at the same time,
when all this happened that was written by a monk.
And he had a speech, uh,
where he, uh, paid gratitude to his body.
And, uh, I remember we discussed about that.
Henrik's body physically gave him a career.
In the middle of all that,
his body just poked him on the shoulder and said,
"Hey, I… I need a break."
"We got a condition here that you need to
pay some attention to."
He had to switch focus.
That was new to him.
[in Swedish] Thanks for the ride.
Thank you!
Do you want some coffee?
I'd love some.
[Henrik in English] To walk away from something that you love doing
for your entire life?
I mean, some people walk away when they're tired of it.
They don't like it at all. I-I still love it.
So there's definitely sadness in that.
[girls laughing]
[Henrik chuckles]
[laughter]
[Henrik] When I think about playing at Madison Square Garden
and the excitement I felt,
I appreciate it so much,
but when I look forward to what's next and…
I think the goal is to
have a different experience,
but feel joy.
Oh, the birds have already lined up on a rock.
[Jimmy in Swedish] Somehow, life wants us well, I think.
Yes, and it can be hard to see when you're in the middle of it sometimes.
You're still here.
I'm still here, yes.
[both chuckle]
-But without the skates. -Without the skates.
I think that our expectations, when we have expectations,
should be a specific way, because there is a risk they limit us.
And that this is what makes us suffer.
Do you agree?
Yes. I think that was a bit of a problem…
Toward the end, in my mind, I imagined how it should be.
Instead of just living it, I sort of tried to…
draw the roadmap,
and it created stress
and disappointment too.
I feel that we don't believe enough
that our thoughts actually create our reality.
A lot of what we talk about…
for example, things like, "I want to end my career here."
"This is what I want…"
But then life wants something different,
and then it's difficult to accept reality.
[soft music playing]
[Henrik in English] If I look at what I went through, and what I learned and…
kind of saw the difference
in a good mindset and a bad mindset,
the difference in how I felt…
That's something I'll bring with me for the rest of my life.
It sounds crazy to say it's been a good experience,
but, in a way, it has.
[music intensifies]
[waves lapping]
[Joel in Swedish] Is there a car coming?
[Henrik] Yeah, I can call.
Deep breathing.
Stretch.
My back's hurting. Is it because I'm retiring for real?
[laughs]
[car horns honking]
[Henrik in English] My jersey's getting retired at the Garden.
And it felt like the speed was…
it was fast.
So much coming at me.
All right, guys.
-Let's do this! -Let's do this!
And you know, funny thing, sometimes when they have the circus here,
they keep the animals in here.
[Charlise] They have the circus here?
Hello, hello.
-[woman] How are you? -It's happening.
-Happy Henrik Day. -Happy Henrik Day. [laughs]
Yes, I'm going to brag all about your famousness.
[Eva in Swedish] Will you be all right on the carpet?
[Therese] Yes, we've practiced it.
You've practiced, we saw you practice.
You're going to walk hand-in-hand.
[laughs]
Waving to the people.
[Henrik] Maybe waving a bit more humbly.
Like a queen, they wave like this.
Henrik! Henrik! Henrik!
[Henrik in English] It's overwhelming to sit in one of the locker rooms
with my entire family.
First time they're in New York, together,
for, yeah, ever.
Mom, Dad, my sister, Joel.
[Eva in Swedish] If they cheer, then you know for sure…
-They will. -That will be tough.
It will be tough, but the tears are coming to me already.
Keep your pockets full of tissues always.
[Eva laughs]
[Henrik in English] And the Ranger legends are there.
I walked around just to… they showed us around and…
-Start crying right away! -Oh, I know.
It's been years for me.
I couldn't talk about it for ten years without getting emotional.
-Literally ten years. -Well…
I want to feel, right? I want to feel something.
Oh yeah, definitely. That's what you play for.
Is there a sense of brotherhood that the few of you
who have had jerseys retired by this organization
feel amongst yourselves?
Is it kinda like a former presidents' club?
Hank, from a young kid in Sweden, coming to the NHL,
coming to America,
to one of 11 players to having your jersey retired
in the world's most famous arena.
I know before you mentioned how surreal this all felt,
but now that we are truly just moments away from it,
how are you feeling in this very moment?
[Henrik] I wanted to be as present as possible,
and be open as possible for whatever was about to happen.
[loud cheering]
[Mike Richter] Ranger fans!
It's time.
Tonight, his number 30 will rise to the rafters
and stay forever
in the world's most famous arena.
[crowd cheering]
[soft, dramatic music playing]
[Henrik] I closed my eyes,
took a couple of deep breaths,
and then I could hear everything.
I heard him introduce my family.
[Mike] His parents, Henrik's father, Peter, and his mother, Eva.
[cheering]
[Henrik] I heard the crowd.
[chanting] Henrik! Henrik!
And in a way, it really centered me.
I mean, I was really in the moment.
[soft music continues]
I was just closing my eyes.
And listened.
[crowd cheering]
[dramatic music playing]
[crowd chanting] Henrik!
[announcer] A Rangers legend…
A New York icon…
Number 30! Henrik Lundqvist!
[crowd cheering]
[dramatic music swells]
First step out, that's when my knee kinda fell weak.
[laughs]
My goal this night was just to take it all in.
I didn't need to perform, I just needed to be myself,
and-and enjoy it.
[crowd cheering]
Ah. I miss you guys.
-I missed you. I really have. -[crowd roars]
I felt the connection, I felt they…
They were there with me, and I was there with them.
[crowd roars]
It's been an amazing experience
and it has given me so much joy,
and it's definitely played a huge part in making my journey so special.
So thank you to everyone in here and around the city.
[crowd cheering]
And while I reflect on my time here in New York,
everything I experienced,
the people I met, and what the game has given me,
I keep coming back to one feeling,
and that's gratitude.
I feel so grateful
for everything this organization has given me,
supporting me and my family.
And Therese, I know it's been a roller coaster for many years,
and at times it hasn't been easy to deal with the ups and downs,
but now I'm finally talking
pretty much every breakfast.
[crowd laughs]
You know, it's…
It's been exciting now to start a new chapter.
And it was, uh…
It was amazing.
[crowd cheering]
This experience will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Thank you so much.
Thank you. Thank you.
I really appreciate it.
[crowd cheering]
[gentle music continues]
[crowd chanting] Henrik! Henrik! Henrik! Henrik!
Henrik! Henrik! Henrik!
Henrik! Henrik!
[chanting fades]
[soft, dramatic music continues]
[music swells]
[Henrik] It was great to just feel that support and love
after everything that happened.
It was overwhelming.
How do you describe that?
It just gave me such a fulfilling,
peaceful,
warm feeling.
Yeah, I felt whole.
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] Congratulations, Henrik!
And thank you for everything
you've given to the city of New York
and to the New York Rangers organization!
[cheering continues]
[chanting] Henrik! Henrik! Henrik! Henrik!
Henrik! Henrik!
[in Swedish] What does tomorrow look like?
Tomorrow…
We'll see if we do anything during the day, but the party is at night.
Celebrating my 40th birthday. It'll be…
It'll be fun.
It really is a full week of celebration.
Yes.
You could say that.
If you go back to where you were a year ago or three years ago,
you realize quite a lot has happened.
And things can grow a lot more than you realize.
Yeah, I guess that's what life is, right?
[mellow guitar music playing]