Henrik Lundqvist, impeccably dressed as ever, strode to the podium on the Madison Square Garden ice. He gazed up at a crowd that was reveling in a last chance to chant his name just like they always did, and paused before blurting, "I miss you guys."
But the face of the franchise from 2005-20 will never be absent from the Garden again.
A beaming Lundqvist watched as his No. 30 was raised to pinwheeled rafters on Friday night as the 11th Ranger to have his jersey retired.
"This place both scared me and inspired me at the same time," Lundqvist said during a touching yet humorous, 13-minute speech, recalling the first time he saw the Garden in 2001.