Henrik Lundqvist underwent open-heart surgery in January, ending what would have been his first season in a Capitals sweater.
Or did it?
Lundqvist announced over the offseason after signing with Washington that he would be “unable to join the team this season” due to the need of an aortic valve replacement, aortic root and ascending aortic replacement surgery, but after he posted videos of himself already back on the ice and taking shots in full gear just seven weeks after the surgery, could his chances of playing this season still be alive?
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Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan admitted that it was a long shot, but given how quickly Lundqvist made his return to on-ice activities, it shouldn’t be considered a no-shot.
"It would be pretty incredible if he was able to come back. I guess we'll see where he is at the end here," MacLellan said on Friday. "Probably unlikely, but I wouldn't rule it out with him."
The possibility of Lundqvist returning this year hasn’t been lost on some around the team, including Capitals analyst Alan May, who addressed the chance of Lundqvist making his Washington debut on The Sports Junkies last week.
"Who said he’s not gonna return?" May said. "I don’t think anyone expected him to be such a badass and, what is it, two weeks after [open heart surgery], he’s running on the treadmill and doing all these different goalie drills."
Lundqvist first tweeted a video of himself facing shots on the ice on Feb. 23, and just two days later, he tweeted another update which did seem to make a return this year improbable at best, stating that it would still be awhile before he even made a decision about his playing future.
“Going to the rink this week has been very rewarding,” Lundqvist said on Feb. 25. “My health is obviously my No.1 priority. It will be months before I can make any decisions regarding my future after more tests/convos with Doctors. The one thing I do know with 100% certainty is that I still love the game.”
But given how quickly the former Ranger has returned to hockey activities, his timeline could be moving up by the day, as long as the 39-year-old feels it’s safe to continue moving towards a return.
"I think it's impressive what he's doing,” MacLellan said. “I see the videos like you guys see the videos. I don't know how likely or unlikely [a return] is. I mean, he had valve replacement surgery."