Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin has proven himself as one of the elite goaltenders in the NHL, and Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz recently spoke highly of the netminder.
Igor Shesterkin burst onto the scene during the 2021-2022 season and instantly became a sensation with his highlight reel glove saves, and helped the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Finals where they unfortunately lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. Since then, he's been elite going 76-30-11 for the Rangers and giving them a fighting chance every game. Yet to win a Stanley Cup, Shesterkin will no doubt be looked upon to be the key factor in a long Rangers playoff run.
Recently making headlines for rejecting an 8-year, $88M contract extension, Shesterkin is betting on himself and rightly so; with the contracts of Jeremy Swayman and Jake Oettinger rapidly changing the goaltender contract game, Shesterkin believes he deserves more.
Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz notices how good Shesterkin is, and the fact he hasn't signed a big contract yet doesn't mean he won't. If fact, for Stolarz it's inevitable. Speaking to media after New York's 4-1 victory over the Maple Leafs on Saturday, Stolarz had nothing but praise for the goaltender and believes he will be paid accordingly, it's just a matter of time:
"You can see why he's going to be the highest-paid goalie in the league."
It's not hard to see why either. Whether it's Toronto or any other team, Shesterkin comes into the game and is lights out and essentially controls the pace of his game with his talent. Facing 35 shots against Toronto, he turned away all but one of them, and was the main factor in New York's win given Toronto's relentless attack.
The game plan for Shesterkin hasn't changed either, as even years ago when he was first breaking out, it was clear that Toronto needed to get shots on the net with heavy traffic in front, otherwise he's too good one on one or with space:
Being the highest-paid goaltender in the league would put Shesterkin above names like Carey Price, Ilya Sorokin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jeremy Swayman, Jake Oettinger, and Connor Hellebuyck; all elite company. He deserves it no doubt, and if he can add a Stanley Cup to his resume, look to the dollar amount to reach an even higher amount. Already a Vezina Trophy winner, Shesterkin still has a good chance of winning another this season, and with a possible 40-win season, could be a Hart Trophy candidate as well.
Igor Shesterkin is going to be the highest paid goaltender in the NHL, there's no doubt about it according to Anthony Stolarz. For good reason too, as not only has Shesterkin been the foundation to the Rangers success, but he's doing it in style too.
