Considering their friendship, how close they became as teammates from 2010-19, that would have been a bummer for Zuccarello, the Minnesota Wild forward.
"When I heard he was going to get his jersey retired I was like, 'I wish I could be there, but I'm probably going to be playing somewhere,'" Zuccarello said. "It makes it special for me to be playing there. It's just great."
Zuccarello will be at Madison Square Garden on Friday because the Wild are playing the Rangers.
The opening face-off won't happen until 8 p.m. ET (NHLN, MSG+, BSN, NHL LIVE), an hour later than normal because of the pregame ceremony that will culminate with Lundqvist's No. 30 going up to the rafters.
"He was a star," Zuccarello said. "He wasn't acting like a star around the boys, but he had the clothes, he had the hair. He was a star all the way through, not just in goal."
Zuccarello signed with the Rangers on May 26, 2010, after he led the Swedish Hockey League with 64 points (23 goals, 41 assists) in 55 games and was named league MVP while playing with Modo. He also a top player for Norway at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
He and Lundqvist became instant friends.
"It helped that we both spoke Swedish," Zuccarello said. "He was serious, you know. He was every day, boom, boom, boom. I was kind of like the jokester. I was a little bit of a change for him, had some fun, added some jokes. I appreciated his way of being too. His wife, Therese, and I get along well. The kids, Charlise and Juli, I think it's just the whole dynamic of it."
Zuccarello said he got to know Lundqvist in a way fans don't get to see him, as a husband, a father and a friend.
"He's a normal guy like you and me, likes to have some fun, a couple of jokes," Zuccarello said. "He's Hank, a good looking, well-dressed guy. But he's emotional. To see him with his family, his kids, just sometimes how goofy he can be, I appreciate that side of him."
He appreciated the competitive side too.
Zuccarello said he learned from Lundqvist about how to have a winning mentality at the rink.
"You can have as much skill as you want, you can train as much as you want, but in those game moments, those situations, you have to have the mentality to be the best and that's why he was the best," Zuccarello said. "He's so calm and relaxed outside, but then in those moments it's like a switch. A lot of the best players in the league have that switch."
Zuccarello also marveled at the way Lundqvist handled the pressure of being a star in New York.
"He embraced it and went with it and delivered," Zuccarello said. "A lot of other people would have cracked, too much pressure. But he went with it. I think he loved it and it actually made him a better player, the pressure he had every day."
