WASHINGTON _ Henrik Lundqvist was fine when he was talking about the game, and the goals he allowed, and all the other stuff that happened in the 6-5 overtime loss the Rangers suffered to the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals on Sunday afternoon.
But then Lundqvist was asked to talk about Mats Zuccarello, his best friend on the team, who was traded Saturday night to Dallas, for two conditional second-round picks.
And that was a lot harder for the Rangers' goalie.
"It's tough," Lundqvist said after a long pause, his voice cracking, his face contorting and tears welling up in his eyes.
"He's my friend ... " Lundqvist tried saying, before realizing it was pointless to go on.
"I can't talk," he said finally. And that was that.
But if he couldn't say out loud what Zuccarello meant to him, Lundqvist did share his feelings about Zuccarello on Twitter on Saturday night. He posted a photo of he and Zuccarello celebrating together on the ice the night the Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens in the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals to book their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals.
"One of the most unique player (sic) and teammate I ever played with. Brings so much to the table. Will miss you a ton!" Lundqvist tweeted, adding a sad face emoji and continuing to describe the photo by saying, "My favorite moment as a Ranger, 'We're going to the finals!!' #36 #Zuuuuk"
It isn't just Lundqvist who loves Zuccarello, though. The (allegedly) 5-8 Norwegian right wing who signed with the Rangers as a free agent in the summer of 2010, was beloved by all in the Rangers universe, from his teammates, to his coaches, to the fans delivering tributes to him all weekend on Twitter.
Everyone knew Zuccarello had to go because he is 31, and in the last year of his contract, about to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. And the Rangers, who are rebuilding, had to move him to get assets back, once they decided they weren't going to sign him to a contract extension. Reportedly, the two second-round picks the Rangers received in the deal can both become first-rounders. The first, a 2019 second-rounder, will become a first-rounder if the Stars win two playoff rounds; the second, a 2020 second-rounder, will become a first if Zuccarello signs a contract to stay in Dallas.
Zuccarello was the first Ranger to go in the hours leading up to Monday's 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline. Forward Kevin Hayes and defenseman Adam McQuaid, both also set to become unrestricted free agents this summer, are almost certain to be traded before the deadline as well. They were held out of the lineup for the second straight day Sunday, in order to protect them against potential injury.
Mika Zibanejad, who was also close to Zuccarello and who centered the Rangers' top line that had Zuccarello on it, said the emotions he and the rest of the team were feeling Sunday were different than what they felt Saturday _ when they anticipated Zuccarello would be traded _ but no less sad.
"I found out it happened yesterday, around dinner, and I talked to him," Zibanejad said. "I talked to him after ... last night. It sucks. Not only is he a great hockey player and a great leader in the group _ and the guy a lot of people turn to and look at for a guy leading by example _ but for me personally, and a few others on the team, as well, he's a really close friend of mine," he continued. "We became really good friends over these two-and-a-half, three years I was here. It's obviously not going to break up just because we don't play on the same team, but it sucks.
"Obviously, you'd rather have him here, but you've got to kind of move past it and wish him all the best. He deserves it," Zibanejad said. "Obviously, I want to see him back here in July (as a free-agent signing)."
