We participated in a tennis tournament and the whole tournament was waiting for our match. Lundqvist versus Lundqvist. We were probably in the match for fifth or sixth place, so it wasn’t the final, but it was big and it was taking forever. Every point we had was so important, so trying for us. We were in intense competition against each other. We didn’t want to give an inch.
So they finally asked us if it was okay for it to end in a tie before the end. The whole tournament was waiting for us. We were the last match. There was a ceremony they had planned and they needed us to finish playing in order to hold it.
We called it a tie and we thought it was best for everyone that we did it. It showed that we do better in team sports when we play together rather than against each other. We learned this very early and it was quite clear to us and our parents. If one of us had lost that match, it would have been impossible for us to be together. Instead, we let it go, the past is gone.
It wasn’t until 2005, when Henrik moved to New York, that we were truly separated.
We were 23 years old. We lived in the same town, grew up together, and shared an apartment in high school. At 16, we started to drift apart to the point where we had our own lives, but still in the same city, the same team, still there, still together.
That year, 2005, was the first time in our lives that we were separated like this. It was a big step, a big change, but at the same time it was so exciting to follow his journey to New York. As a brother, I was very proud of the way he handled himself right away with the Rangers. He has found his new home.
A year later, I came to the NHL to play for the Dallas Stars.
It was of course exciting. Our first match against each other was really special, a lot of emotions went through your head. But this was different and skating with him in the other team’s net was weird. It was the first time we weren’t on the same team, the first time we played against each other.
Over time our career paths have obviously been different, his in the NHL and mine professionally in Sweden for Frolunda. We talked once a week, maybe sometimes once every two weeks. We talked about life, about family. Hockey stuff we read about. We didn’t need to talk about it.
Our conversations may have been short at times, just quick catch-ups. We played so many games and traveled. But we still knew that if we ever needed each other, we would be there, like at the end of his career, when Henrik had to make the decision to have heart surgery and finally admitted that a return to the NHL would not happen.
Hockey is our life. It was our childhood dream. It wasn’t easy to take it away from Henrik, but it was about his health and his heart said no. It’s hard. It was hard. I know he had to work with these feelings and learn to deal with them.
It was important for him to let it go and just be happy for his career, not bitter or sad about the end. He enjoyed what he did and was happy with what he was able to do.
I was proud of him then, now and always. The Hall of Fame welcomes a great goalie, but an even better brother.
