Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist, Islanders' Pierre Turgeon enshrined in Hockey Hall of Fame
From left, Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Pierre Turgeon, Mike Vernon, Caroline Ouellette, Henrik Lundqvist, Coco Lacroix for Pierre Lacroix, Ken Hitchcock and Tom Barrasso pose at center ice ahead of a ceremonial face off before the Maple Leafs hosted the Flames at the Scotiabank Arena on Friday in Toronto. Credit: NHLI via Getty Images/Mark Blinch
TORONTO — Rangers goaltending legend Henrik Lundqvist and former Islanders center Pierre Turgeon officially took their place among hockey’s greatest players Monday night, when the duo was among a group of seven who were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Lundqvist, 41, and Turgeon, 54, joined goaltenders Tom Barrasso and Mike Vernon, former GM Pierre Lacroix, former coach Ken Hitchcock and Caroline Ouellette, one of the most decorated women players in hockey history, in entering the Hall. Lacroix and Hitchcock were inducted into the builder’s category.
“When I think about how it started, a 7-by-3-meter base sandpit, a kindergarten up in northern Sweden, to Madison Square Garden, and now the Hockey Hall of Fame, it’s just an incredible feeling,’’ said Lundqvist, the final speaker at the ceremony. “I remember I had one big concern that was actually expressed to my grandmother after practice one day: ‘What if I get stuck in this small town and nobody will ever see how good I am?’
“And clearly, confidence was not an issue at the age of 8, when I gave up 30 goals in my first two games.’’
Originally a seventh round pick (No. 205 overall) by the Rangers in the 2000 NHL draft, Lundqvist, a native of Are, Sweden, won the Vezina Trophy, as the NHL’s top goaltender, in 2011-12. He was also a finalist for the award two other times.
In 2006, he led Sweden to the gold medal in the Olympics. He ended his career as the Rangers’ all-time leader in wins (459) and shutouts (64) as well as playoff wins (61), and all-time playoff appearances (130).
Lundqvist never won a Stanley Cup, but he left the game sixth on the NHL’s all-time wins list. His No. 30 jersey was retired by the Rangers on Jan. 28, 2022.
He played all 15 of his NHL seasons with the Rangers, from 2005-2020, and was voted into the Hall of Fame in his first season of eligibility. Lundqvist signed as a free agent with theCapitals after the Rangers bought him out of the final year of his contract, but never played for them, after undergoing open heart surgery to repair a valve problem. He officially retired from the NHL in 2021.
In his speech, Lundqvist thanked his teammates, along with Rangers owner James Dolan and former team president Glen Sather, who sat together watching him deliver his speech. His also thanked his coaches — giving a special shoutout to goalie coach Benoit Allaire — Ranger fans, his family, his parents, his sister, his twin brother, Joel, and his wife Therese and their daughters.
Turgeon, meanwhile, who played for six teams in his 19-year career and totaled 515 goals and 1,327 points, was the first inductee to speak. The Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec native delivered his speech switching between English and French.
“I have many great memories during my career, and special thanks to my coaches, trainers, teammates, friends and fans, from my days to the Buffalo Sabres, the New York Islanders, les Canadiens de Montreal, the Dallas Stars, St. Louis and the Colorado Avalanche,’’ Turgeon said.
He talked about how watching his older brother, Sylvain, play junior hockey and get selected No. 2 overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1983 draft, inspired him. He dreamt of the same for himself, he said, and in 1987, he became the No. 1 pick overall by the Sabres. He also talked about the heartache of losing his daughter, who died in 2010.
When it came to the Islanders, Turgeon talked about playing for GM Bill Torrey and coach Al Arbour, “The legend.’’ Arbour, he said, “was a dad to all of us.”
He noted that he had the best season of his career with the Islanders — when he scored 58 goals and 132 points in 1992-93 and won the Lady Byng Award. He shouted out his linemates that season, Derek King and Steve Thomas “and the special, special group we had in ‘93.’’
The Islanders made a surprise run to the Wales Conference finals that year, knocking off the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins along the way, though Turgeon was injured on a dirty hit by Washington’s Dale Hunter after he scored an insurance goal that helped eliminate the Capitals from the playoffs.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
