Swedish Hockey Legend, Henrik Lundqvist's twin brother, announces retirement date
He certainly isn't as well-known as his twin brother on this side of the world, but Joel Lundqvist is a legend in Sweden. Now, after 20 years playing in the Swedish Hockey League, he says he'll retire at the end of 2022-23.
"I still love to compete and play hockey, but since last November I've been thinking about whether or not to continue playing. I know what it takes on and off the ice in my role and I feel ready. I want to be honest with the club, my teammates, fans and myself," said Lundqvist, who turns 41 in March.
Like his twin Henrik, Joel did play in the NHL, but not for nearly as long. Drafted in the 3rd round (68th overall) by the Dallas Stars in 2000, he came to North America in 2006 and played 137 NHL games before heading back home. That was where he truly made his mark. Joel played for Frolunda his entire career in the SHL, and served as captain of the team for the last 14. He will go down in history as one of the club's greatest players of all time, and has four SHL championships to show for it, as well as four Champions Hockey League tournament wins.
"I am extremely excited for the rest of the season, the last and most important part. Winning is the obvious goal, while I want to enjoy representing Frölunda with all that it entails. For me, it's all about the here and now before it's time to look towards a new chapter in life," said Joel.
Congrats on a great career!
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Kyle Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex Tuch | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Owen Power | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Michael Bunting | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Drew Helleson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jirí Kulich | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Isac Lundestrom | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nino Niederreiter | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ross Johnston | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Evgeni Malkin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Morrissey | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Perfetti | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Bryan Rust | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mark Scheifele | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Trevor Zegras | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 20 | 17 | 3 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||