Henrik Lundqvist expected to headline Hockey's Hall of Fame class of 2023 in first year of eligibility

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Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is expected to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, part of the class of 2023 set to be announced Wednesday afternoon.

Lundqvist backstopped Sweden to an Olympic gold medal in 2006 and led the New York Rangers to the playoffs in 11 of 12 years. That included a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 and two Eastern Conference final appearances.

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Henrik Lundqvist attends the "Open Heart" premiere during the 2023 Tribeca Festival at BMCC Theater on June 15, 2023 in New York City.  (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)

A seventh-round pick in the 2000 draft, Lundqvist ranks fifth on the NHL career victories list with 459. He won 61 more in the playoffs before halting his hockey career in 2020 because of a heart condition.

Countryman Henrik Zetterberg, Canadian women’s hockey stars Jennifer Botterill and Caroline Ouellette and longtime executive David Poile are among the other top candidates being considered by the board chaired by Hall of Famer Mike Gartner, who was inducted in 2001.

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Current New York Rangers players present Henrik Lundqvist with a gift during his jersey retirement ceremony prior to a game between the New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2022 in New York City. Henrik Lundqvist played all 15 seasons of his NHL career with the Rangers before retiring in 2020.  (Steven Ryan/Getty Images)

The long wait also could be over for point-a-game Russian winger Alexander