There is no denying that Igor Shesterkin is one of the best goalies in the NHL. He is arguably THE best. But after he rejected the Rangers offer of 8 years worth 88 million earlier today, things look a bit bemused.
The contract, carrying an average annual value of 11 million dollars, would have made Shesterkin the highest paid goalie in NHL history. A few weeks back it was rumored that Igor wanted north of 12 million, surpassing Artemi Panarin’s AAV of 11.6 million.
Why bring up Panarin? There were reports that Shesterkin wanted to be the Rangers highest paid player- and squander 12 percent of the Rangers total cap space. The NHL’s salary cap is going up, but even at that, paying a goalie that much money is definitely a risk. Some goalies do age well, most even better than forwards and defensemen, but the contract possibly kicking in when Igor will be 29 years old (and a few months from 30) is a risk.
Is Shesterkin the player worth a big contract? Definitely, there is no denying that. His playoff heroics are one of a kind. But the real question of concern is will it be worth it for the team to pay Igor a large sum of money.
Over the last few years, we have seen that in the playoffs, you do NOT need an elite goalie to win a Stanley Cup. There have been some exceptions (Andrei Vasilevskiy twice, Sergei Bobrovsky), but their forwards stepped up when they needed to. HOWEVER, Darcy Kuemper and Adin Hill both won the Cup, respectively, in 2022 and 2023. Kuemper had a cap hit of 4.5 million and Hill’s was 2.175 million.
What also worked out for them was their offense AND defense were both clicking at the same time. As great as Igor Shesterkin has been in the playoffs the last three seasons, it is rare that a goalie can carry a lackluster even strength team to the promised land. Colorado and Vegas also had a lot of unlikely heroes during their runs who scored big goals. The Rangers have not got that even with Igor’s playoff brilliance. If they did, we would be having a conversation about Shesterkin taking a discount assuming the Rangers would have won at least one Cup.
This is just my opinion, but if the Rangers truly want to win the Cup, it will be best to NOT spend big bucks on a goalie. I feel that they would be better suited to get a legit top line winger and help on the backend (assuming Trouba’s departure will be within the next two years).
If the Rangers do want to go elsewhere this offseason, there are some notable goalies who will be free agents. Hill, as mentioned earlier, will be up for a new deal. 2022-23 Vezina Winner Linus Ullmark should also be seeking a raise.
Neither of these goalies are on the level of Shesterkin, but they will cost significantly less. Perhaps signing one of the players listed above can possibly save the Blueshirts 5-7 million dollars in cap space. And that money can be used for maybe someone like Andrew Mangiapane, Shea Theodore, Jakob Chychrun, etc. Even if they go above what they would have paid Igor, signing a cheaper goalie in addition to a few upgrades on offense and defense may very well be the way to go.
The Blueshirts kick of their regular season tomorrow night in Pittsburgh, where Shesterkin is expected to start.
BS Reports 
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