The unfortunate story of Henrik Lundqvist continues. After recently announcing that he would miss the entire 2020-21 season due to a heart issue, the veteran netminder has now announced he will be undergoing open heart surgery in an attempt to correct it.
"Scheduled for open heart surgery right now," Lundqvist posted to Twitter. "Aortic valve replacement, aortic root and ascending aortic replacement, to be more exact."
"We all have our mountains to climb," he added. "Staying positive here and set on the road to recovery."
It was revealed by Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan that the 38-year-old Lundqvist has been dealing with the heart issue his entire career, but it was recently discovered to be worsening and team doctors decided he should not play this season. Given his age, returning to the NHL may be out of the questions, although Lundqvist has yet to even mention the word retirement.
Before signing with the Caps as a free agent, Lundqvist had played his entire career with the New York Rangers and owns several franchise records. He was bought out of the remaining year of his contract by the team during the offseason.
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