page_title: Henrik Lundqvist
section_title: Establishing himself
hierarchical_section_title: Henrik Lundqvist / Professional career / New York (2005–present) / Establishing himself
caption_attribution_description: Henrik Lundqvist plays against the New York Islanders on Nov. 15, 2011
context_page_description: Henrik Lundqvist is a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. Before winning the Vezina Trophy in 2012, he was nominated in each of his first three seasons, and is the only goaltender in NHL history to record 11 30-win seasons in his first 12 seasons. He holds the record for most wins by a European-born goaltender in the NHL. His dominating play during his rookie season resulted in the New York media and Rangers fans giving him the nickname "King Henrik". During the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, he led the Swedish men's team to their second Olympic gold medal.
  Before joining the Rangers, Lundqvist played for Frölunda HC in Swedish Elitserien. During his years in Sweden, he developed into the league's finest goaltender, winning the Honken Trophy three consecutive seasons; 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 2005, he also won two of the most prestigious awards in Swedish ice hockey, the Guldpucken and the Guldhjälmen.
  Lundqvist is considered a butterfly style goalie, though unorthodox because of the aggressive way he performs the butterfly.
context_section_description: By the start of his second season with the NHL, Lundqvist had already made a name for himself in the hockey world, among his fellow players and with Ranger fans and was now widely known by his nickname "King Henrik" or simply "The King".
  On 14 December 2006, against the Dallas Stars, Lundqvist became the first NHL goaltender to face his twin brother, Joel. He and his brother are only the third set of twins to play each other in an NHL game. The game was won by Lundqvist and the Rangers. In the Rangers' 7–0 win in Game 3 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals over the Atlanta Thrashers, Lundqvist became the first Rangers goaltender since Mike Richter in 1997 to record a playoff shutout. The win was also the Rangers' first home playoff win since Richter's shutout. For the second consecutive year, Lundqvist was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy. Because Lundqvist was tied with Miikka Kiprusoff for third place in balloting, there were four finalists for an NHL individual trophy for the first time in league history. During the off-season, Lundqvist signed a one-year, US$4.25 million contract extension with the Rangers.
  On 13 February 2008, Lundqvist signed a six-year, US$41.25 million contract extension with the Rangers averaging $6.875 million per season. This made him the highest-paid goaltender in the NHL on average over the length of his contract. On 24 February 2008, Lundqvist became the first Rangers goaltender to record eight shutouts in a single season since Eddie Giacomin in 1970–71. On 6 March 2008, he recorded his 30th win of the season, making him just the second goaltender, along with Ron Hextall, to record at least 30 wins in each of his first three NHL seasons. On 9 March 2008, Lundqvist became the first Rangers goaltender to record nine shutouts in a season since Eddie Giacomin's 1966–67 season in a 1–0 win against the Boston Bruins. Lundqvist was named the Rangers Most Valuable Player for the fifth consecutive season (2006–07 to 2010–11), as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. He became the first Rangers player to earn the Rangers MVP award five consecutive times.
  On 1 October 2008, Lundqvist and the New York Rangers won the Victoria Cup in 2008 when they won 4–3 over Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
  On 8 January 2009, Lundqvist was selected to play in the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal. On 24 January 2009, Lundqvist made his first All-Star appearance in the Elimination Shootout. He stopped 12 of 16 shots in the shootout as Shane Doan won the competition. The next day, he played in the second period of the All-Star Game, in which he gave up six goals.
  On 12 March 2009, Lundqvist became the first NHL goalie to win at least 30 games in his first four seasons with a win over the Nashville Predators. In September 2009, despite having played only four seasons with the club, the book 100 Ranger Greats ranked Lundqvist at No. 90 all-time of more than 900 New York Rangers' players who had played during the team's first 82 seasons.
  On 25 March 2010, Lundqvist became the first NHL goaltender to win at least 30 games in his first five seasons after defeating the New Jersey Devils in a shootout.
  In January 2011, Lundqvist and teammate Marc Staal were named All-Stars for the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina. Both players were drafted by Staal's older brother Eric, who was one of the captains for the event. On 30 January 2011, Lundqvist played in the third period of the All-Star game, stopping 11 of 14 shots. This was his second All-Star appearance. He also became the first goaltender to face and stop penalty shot in the 57-year history of the NHL All-Star Game; the penalty shot was attempted by Matt Duchene of the Colorado Avalanche. On 17 February 2011, Lundqvist earned his 200th NHL win in a 4–3 shootout victory over the Los Angeles Kings at Madison Square Garden. On 19 March 2011, Lundqvist became the first NHL goaltender to win at least 30 games in his first six seasons in a 6–3 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden.
  On 24 January 2012, Lundqvist earned his 40th c
caption: Lundqvist during the 2011–12 season. During that season, he became the first NHL goalie to win at least 30 games in their first seven seasons.
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