Photo: The Hockey Writers

Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist announced on Friday morning that his open heart procedure “went really well” and he feels like “I’m in really good hands” on Twitter. He added that the surgery took five hours long.

Washington Capitals’ GM Brian MacLellan told the media last month that the 38-year-old has dealt with some heart issues throughout his NHL career.

Lundqvist told the public that he will have his aortic valve, aortic root, and ascending aorta replaced during his procedure on social media in December.

He announced on December 17 that his heart condition will prevent him from playing this season.

Lundqvist signed a one-year contract with the Capitals as an unrestricted free agent on October 9 after 15 seasons with the New York Rangers, who bought out the final year of his contract that carried an $8.5 million cap hit on September 30, and Braden Holtby signed a two-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks. The Capitals expected him to mentor Ilya Samsonov through his first season as the team’s No. 1 goalie.

The Capitals signed goaltender Craig Anderson to a PTO on December 27 as the team could go into this season with Ilya Samsonov, Vitek Vanecek, and Pheonix Copley, who have a combined 55 games worth of NHL experience, as their goalies.

Day 3. Surgery went really well. About 5 hours to get it all taken care of. Really appreciate the great staff here at the Clevland Clinic. Last few days has been pretty crazy but feel like I’m in really good hands. Every day is a step in the right direction 👍🏻 pic.twitter.com/wjMTosFWQy

— Henrik Lundqvist (@hlundqvist35) January 8, 2021

By Harrison Brown