Henrik Lundqvist wants to bring same expertise from NHL career to the TV screen
This story appeared on hockeysverige.se this week and has been translated from Swedish to English.
“Happy Halloween!”
Henrik Lundqvist bursts into hearty laughter when he sees the photo of himself dressed up as one of the Hanson Brothers from the cult film Slap Shot.
The scene played out in a TV studio in Atlanta last week, where the retired former NHL star now works as an analyst for NHL on TNT. Together with colleagues—and former NHL players—Paul Bissonnette and Anson Carter, Lundqvist celebrated Halloween by stepping into the roles of the rowdy brothers.
“It might not have been the best Halloween costume I’ve ever had. But it was fun. We try to have fun on TNT when we’re on,” he says.
No doubt about it. Hockey on TNT is a stark contrast to the more typical, somewhat predictable regular hockey broadcasts. It’s unorthodox, goofy, and at times a bit provocative.
“It absolutely is,” says Lundqvist. “They tried to emulate the NBA broadcasts they had with Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal earlier. There’s a lot of humor in their shows and they have a great time doing it. That’s kind of TNT’s core concept—that it should be similar. It’s less about speaking to the viewer and more about us having a conversation.
“But we have fun while we work, and hopefully the viewers think so too. It’s also about finding that balance so it doesn’t go completely off the rails, while still bringing good insights as we try to have fun.”
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Barely a week after his latest broadcast in the U.S., he’s sunk into an armchair at a hotel in central Stockholm for an intense 24 hours of press ahead of February’s Olympics.
Lundqvist landed in Stockholm early Monday morning and flied back to New York on Tuesday afternoon to get ready for his next TV appearance in the States.
It sounds like a life at least as hectic as the one he led as an NHL player. But ”Hank” notes cheerfully that he doesn’t mind—he now has time for many things his NHL career didn’t allow.
That career, as is well known, ended in 2021 after his well-documented heart condition forced him to undergo major surgery. When the New York Rangers icon considered what he wanted to do with the void that opened up after hockey, a media job quickly became an interesting option.
“I knew I wanted to stay within Madison Square Garden. Not so much on the sports side with the Rangers, but more with Madison Square Garden overall and everything that happens in the arena,” Lundqvist says. “After various meetings with the leadership teams, I ended up doing some TV with MSG Networks and thought it was fun. A lot of it is about working with great people and enjoying it. You can stay fairly close to the sport but still have time for a lot of other things.”
“So that’s how it started, and then I found it enjoyable—challenging in a new way even though media has been a big part of my life for the past 20-plus years. It’s a different thing to sit there and share opinions and analyze players and teams.
“Many people who watch hockey—they know hockey. But they might not really know what the players feel and think in certain situations, why something turned out well or poorly. That’s where I try to give my perspective, since I’ve been in those situations so often myself.”
That’s the kind of analysis he hopes to bring to Swedish TV viewers during the Olympics in Milan in February. The 43-year-old will serve as an analyst for not one, but two Swedish channels, SVT and TV4, during the hockey tournament. It will be his second Olympics as a TV expert—after competing in three as a player.
“There was a conversation between SVT and TV4 since they’re sharing the games. For my part, it’s great to be able to follow all of Sweden’s games since I’ll be there anyway,” he explains. “I worked the last Olympics for another Swedish channel, but then we were in the Stockholm studio. Now that this opportunity came up to be on site, we landed on this setup. It’ll be a bit of a puzzle, but it’ll be fun.”
Being on two different sets with two different tones for the audience could pose a challenge. But Lundqvist is not worried.
“I don’t think it’ll be that different. Of course, every channel has its own way of doing TV. But in the end, when you’re sitting there, it’s your opinions—your thoughts on hockey and on performances—that matter.
“That’s what you want to convey regardless of how the channel chooses to broadcast. It’s similar to my work in the U.S. with MSG Networks and TNT Networks—two very different channels with very different game plans when it comes to making TV. But ultimately it comes down to your knowledge and your opinions about the sport.”
And he knows what he can bring to the table.
“I hope once again to provide insight into what players feel and think in different situations—the things you might not see, the things viewers don’t know. Many people watching the games are very knowledgeable and know hockey. The goal is to find a good level where you don’t get too technical and lose those who aren’t as familiar, while still giving solid info to those who really know the game. That’s the balance you’re always trying to strike.
“It can’t get too complicated—you want to reach everyone who’s watching. Above all, it’s about talking about the things you can’t see—more about what’s going on in the players’ heads when things happen, whether good or bad. Why is it happening? And digging deep into that.”
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