Sports
Hockey Hall of Famer spreading awareness on heart condition that forced him into early retirement
In late 2020, Henrik Lundqvist had some gas left in the tank and was all set to put on an unfamiliar hockey sweater to extend his career just a bit longer.
After spending 15 seasons with the New York Rangers, “King Hank” signed a one-year deal with the Washington Capitals ahead of the 2020-2021 season.
But with a month left until the season began, Lundqvist had open-heart surgery in January 2021 due to a leaky aortic valve.
Lundqvist returned to practice a month later, but the surgery did not cure his heart issues. While getting ready for his on-ice return with the Caps, Lundqvist had “flare-ups” in his heart. Ultimately, he was diagnosed with recurrent pericarditis, which left him in “a lot of pain” that was “affecting my everyday life.”
Knowing the risks, he decided to call it a career.
New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports)
“It definitely didn’t end the way I planned it to. … It’s a big day when you make that decision,” Lundqvist told Fox News Digital in a recent interview about his decision to hang up the pads.
Sure, Lundqvist was certainly on the last leg of his career, but he didn’t exactly end it on his own terms. As he puts it, “That first year of retirement was hard.”
But nearly four years since his surgery, Lundqvist, in some ways, sees the diagnosis as a blessing in disguise.
Looking back, Lundqvist knows he was only meant to wear Ranger blue.
“It was not meant to be for me to continue playing. My last game was as a Ranger, that was the meaning of it all,” said Lundqvist, who does analyst work on MSG Network and TNT.
While it was hard to end his career somewhat involuntarily, the 42-year-old told Fox News Digital he is “at peace” with his decision.
“Instead of wishing for more, I turned around and was extremely grateful for everything I experienced on the ice and how much the game of hockey, what it gave me: memories, friendships and just such a big passion. It really guided me through life. I felt this massive amount of gratitude toward my career and the things I got to do; it was just a reset in life,” he said.
New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist waves to the fans after defeating the Colorado Avalanche at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 11, 2017. The win was Lundqvist’s 400th NHL win. (Andy Marlin/USA TODAY Sports)
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Hindsight is also 20/20, considering he is still dealing with scary moments, which would be a nightmare to have while on the ice.
The Hockey Hall of Famer said he has “restrictions” when it comes to physical activity and that he’s had “four or five flare-ups” since his open-heart surgery, including as recently as this summer. His pericarditis isn’t going away anytime soon.
“In that moment, I was not sure if it was the right decision. But looking back, with the amount of flare-ups I’ve had and how it’s been affecting my life, I know it was the right decision, so that feels good,” Lundqvist said.
More than four years since his last NHL game, Lundqvist is taking advantage of the opportunity to tell his story. The Rangers legend, whose No. 30 hangs in the Madison Square Garden rafters, has partnered with Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals to be a part of its latest “Life DisRPted” campaign to raise awareness for pericarditis.
“Pericarditis has really affected my life. I had to retire. But also, since I retired, it has an effect on my life in terms of how active I can be and the setbacks I’ve had, the flare-ups. So, through this campaign, I saw a great opportunity to spread awareness,” Lundqvist said.
Former New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist speaks to the crowd during a ceremony to retire his number before a game at Madison Square Garden. (Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)
“I’ve had a lot of great conversations with their team, how to reach people. A lot of people live with it, but maybe they don’t have a good plan. That’s our goal with this campaign, to really educate people and make sure they get the type of support they need to bring to their doctors. There are a lot of people who maybe don’t know they have RP. For me, when I was diagnosed, I wasn’t sure what was going on. I was just in a lot of pain, it was affecting me in everyday life. So, that’s step one, to get the diagnosis, but from there, you want to have a good game plan.”
“It just resonates with me,” he added. “Athlete or not, your life can be turned upside down no matter who you are. But how do you find happiness and strength in that moment? We all go through things. I think the key is how we respond, how we deal with it. I don’t know if I feel a responsibility, but it’s an opportunity to help people.”
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Napoleon Solo took home the 2026 Preakness Stakes on Saturday, the 151st running of the race.
The favorite in Taj Mahal, the 1 horse, was in the lead from the start until the final turn until Napoleon Solo made his move on the outside and took the lead at the top of the stretch. As Taj Mahal fell off, Iron Honor, the 9 horse, snuck up, but the effort ultimately was not enough.
Napoleon Solo opened at 8-1 and closed at 7-1. Iron Honor, at 8-1, finished second, with Chip Honcho fishing third after closing at 11-1. Ocelli, one of just three horses to run both the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago and Saturday’s Preakness, finished fourth at 8-1.
A Preakness branded starting gate is seen on track prior to the 151st Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park on May 16, 2026 in Laurel, Maryland. For the first and only time, Laurel Park is hosting the Preakness Stakes which is the second race of the Triple Crown jewel due to the traditional home of the race of the Pimlico Race Course undergoing complete renovations. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
A $1 exacta paid out $53.60, while a $1 trifecta brought in $597.10. But someone out there is very lucky, as a $1 superhighfive – picking the top-five finishers in order – paid out $12,015.70.
Even moreso, a 20-cent Pick 6 – picking the winners of the six consecutive races, with the final being the Preakness, paid out $33,842.34.
The race was run without the Kentucky Derby winner for the second year in a row. After Sovereignty did not run the Preakness last year – and wound up winning the Belmont Stakes – the training team of Golden Tempo opted to skip the Maryland race.
From 1960 to 2018, only three Derby winners did not run in the Preakness. Three Derby winners have skipped the Preakness in the last five years, and for the sixth time in eight years, for various reasons, the Triple Crown had already been impossible to accomplish by the time the Preakness even rolled around.
“I understand that fans of the sport or fans of the Triple Crown are disappointed, but the horse is not a machine,” Golden Tempo’s trainer, Cherie DeVaux, told Fox News Digital earlier this week.
Paco Lopez, right, atop Napoleon Solo, edges out Iron Honor, ridden by Flavien Prat, to win the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
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Only three horses from two weeks ago – Ocelli, Robusta, and Incredibolt, were back at the Preakness. Corona de Oro, the 11 horse on Saturday, was scratched well ahead of the Derby, and Great White, who reared up and fell on his back after becoming startled shortly before entering the Derby gate, took the 13 post on Saturday.
The Preakness went off roughly 24 hours after a horse died following the completion of his very first race.
Hit Zero, trained by Brittany Russell, came into the race as the favorite. However, he finished last in the race, which was won by another one of Russell’s horses, Bold Fact — and upon crossing the finish line, Hit Zero reportedly began coughing, dropped to his knees, then put his head down and died.
The Preakness took place at Laurel Park as Pimlico undergoes renovations. It was the first time ever that Pimlico did not host the race, moving roughly 20 miles south.
Paco Lopez, atop Napoleon Solo, wins the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
The Belmont Stakes, the final Triple Crown race, will take place on June 6. The race will return to Saratoga for a third year in a row as Belmont Park continues to be renovated.
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HIGH SCHOOL BOYS VOLLEYBALL
CITY SECTION FINALS
FRIDAY
At Birmingham
DIVISION I
#1 Taft d. #3 Cleveland, 25-23, 25-14, 25-21
DIVISION IV
#7 Maywood CES d. #4 Math & Science College Prep, 25-17, 25-17, 25-23
At Venice
DIVISION II
#4 Marquez d. #6 Narbonne, 23-25, 25-19, 29-27, 25-16
DIVISION III
#13 Birmingham d. #2 Legacy, 25-20, 17-25, 31-33, 25-21, 15-10
SATURDAY
At Birmingham
OPEN DIVISION
#3 Chatsworth d. #1 Granada Hills, 24-26, 25-21, 25-14, 25-18
DIVISION V
314 Franklin d. #13 Rancho Dominguez, 25-18, 25-19, 25-16
SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS
THURSDAY
At Home Sites
DIVISION 9
Vasquez d. Tarbut V’ Torah, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-10
FRIDAY
At Cerritos College
DIVISION 1
#1 Mira Costa d. #3 Loyola, 25-21, 25-22, 25-22
DIVISION 4
Sunny Hills d. Royal, 24-26, 25-22, 27-25, 25-23
At Home Sites
DIVISION 5
Bishop Diego d. St. Anthony, 25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23
DIVISION 8
Temescal Canyon d. West Valley, 24-26, 25-16, 25-19, 25-23
SATURDAY
At Cerritos College
DIVISION 2
Orange Lutheran d. Edison, 3-1
DIVISION 3
Windward d. St, John Bosco, 24-26, 25–21, 25-22, 25-20
DIVISION 6
Culver City d. Garden Grove, 27-25, 25-20, 19-25, 21-25, 15-9
Sports
It’s Game 7, and we have a bet locked in as the Cavaliers and legacies are on the line against the Pistons
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The NBA takes a lot of flak for having meaningless games, and I can definitely understand it, watching on a random Wednesday in January. However, the playoffs have delivered over and over to viewers and rewarded us for putting up with garbage regular-season games.
This will be the fourth Game 7 of the playoffs. Three series have been sweeps, and the other three have been six games. That shows competitive hoops. Now, how do we bet this Game 7 in the Eastern Conference?
The Cleveland Cavaliers blew it. After not winning a road game all postseason, they took Game 5 in surprising fashion. It looked like they were going to win in six games. After all, they hadn’t lost a game at home in the postseason.
Instead, Detroit came out and blitzed the Cavs, never giving them a chance to get their footing. They lost in an ugly fashion and now have to figure out a way to win a game on the road.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden drives to the basket against the Detroit Pistons during the second half of Game 5 in the second-round NBA playoffs in Detroit on May 13, 2026. (Duane Burleson/AP)
It isn’t just the Cavs’ fate that rests in this game. It is also the legacy of James Harden and, to a lesser extent, Donovan Mitchell.
We know that Mitchell is a very good player, but he isn’t regarded as one of the best players ever. Harden is. Unfortunately, Harden has struggled in Game 7s. He’s averaged 19.1 points, 7.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds. That’s not terrible, but looking at his shooting percentages, he is at 35.3% and 22.2% in those games. He actually is 4-4 overall in the games, but in his past three, he has scored a combined 34 points over 113 minutes.
The Detroit Pistons seem to like playing with their backs against the wall. They are a gritty team, so I suppose it makes sense.
Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren reacts after allowing a pass to go out of bounds in the second half of Game 4 of the second-round NBA playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland on May 11, 2026. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)
Cade Cunningham continues to deliver for the team, and he finally got some help in Game 6 from Jalen Duren. This was never going to be an easy series for Duren, but it feels like he is taking more time to mature than others. He definitely improved this year, but the consistency they need from him just isn’t there yet.
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Now as the team goes home they will need Duren to be a beast on the glass. If he can keep the Pistons in the rebounding battle, they should win this game with ease. They won Game 6 by just three rebounds, but that takes away a big dimension of what Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley do for the Cavs. It isn’t everything, though, as the Pistons won the rebounding battle in both losses in Cleveland.
I don’t see this being a runaway game for the Pistons. Mitchell and Cunningham likely will cancel each other out with scoring. Harden needs to establish himself as the third-best player on the floor. I haven’t seen him do that in the postseason, yet.
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden talk during Game 2 in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs vs. the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Ohio. (David Dermer/Imagn Images)
This is the second Game 7 of the playoffs for both of the clubs, so it isn’t like either will be caught off guard about what this entails.
If I look at it objectively, I think the Cavs have the better players. However, the Pistons have looked significantly better this season, and definitely in the playoffs overall. Both are prone to issues and slipping. The Cavs shouldn’t be as they are a veteran team.
This game has to be won by Cleveland, though. There is too much riding on the franchise and legacies of guys for them to not prepare properly for it. Maybe that’s weak analysis, but I’m taking the Cavs with the points and I do think they win outright. I expect a monster game from Mitchell, and Harden should get 10+ assists.
Either way, whoever wins will lose to the New York Knicks.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
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