Report: Rangers 'likely' to buy out netminder Henrik Lundqvist

The past two seasons have not been kind to New York Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist. His numbers have significantly gotten worse, and there are no signs of the 38-year-old bouncing back. 

In his latest "Trade Bait" column, TSN's Frank Seravalli reports that the Rangers are "likely" going to buy out Lundqvist, which makes $12 million in total dead cap space. He adds that Jeff Gorton's spending power would be reduced to nearly $68 million. 

Over the last two seasons, Lundqvist owns a 3.11 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. He has just 28 wins in his last 78 starts, going 28-35-13. The native of Sweden played just two playoff games for the Rangers this season, losing both and not showing any promise. 

It's not clear whether or not Lundqvist would be picked up by another club if bought out, though teams certainly will be checking in on his intentions this offseason. 

Moving forward without Lundqvist, New York will rely on Alexandar Georgiev and Igor Shesterkin, unless they acquire a goaltender via free agency. They could potentially target Braden Holtby, Robin Lehner, Jacob Markstrom and Corey Crawford, among others, but Seravalli didn't discuss what the Rangers might be thinking for the future. 

The buyout window opens on Friday, and Lundqvist has one year remaining on his contract worth $8.5 million.