New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin is due for a pay raise next off-season. He is in the final year of his current four-year deal, worth $22.667 million, and has a salary cap hit of $5.667 million. He will get a pay raise and deserves one after his performance in the playoffs.
As of July 1st, he was eligible to sign an extension; however, no agreement has been reached. Meanwhile, his friend Ilya Sorokin immediately signed an extension with the New York Islanders. Shesterkin has made it clear he wants to be the highest-paid goalie in the league as the negotiations continue.
That is why seeing a deal not get done is so surprising. Could the New York Rangers walk away from a player of Shesterkin’s calibre?
Former New York Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto does not think they should. During Fanatics Fest this weekend, he spoke with Full Press Hockey and was asked about Shesterkin’s contract situation.
“I don’t know how you let a guy like that walk away,” Del Zotto told Full Press Hockey.
And Del Zotto is right. He would know he played in front of Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender and Rangers legend Henrik Lundqvist for many years.
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As Full Press Hockey has documented, Igor Shesterkin has been arguably the Rangers best player. After a slow 2023-24 season start, Shesterkin played lights out down the stretch and into the playoffs. If it were not for Shesterkin, the Rangers would not have beaten Carolina in Game 6 in the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
There is an argument to be made if it was not for Shesterkin, the Conference Final against Florida would not have advanced past Game 5. Shesterkin was excellent for the Rangers in the Playoffs. While the Panthers stifled the Rangers offence, he kept his team in games.
Through the Conference Final and sometimes during the playoffs, it felt like Henrik Lundqvist 2.0, as Igor Shesterskin kept the Rangers in games and series.
The question for Chris Drury is what Shesterkin could be the amount of his next contract. Salary cap space is such an asset. So, what is a reasonable number for the Rangers to field a competitive team? Based on his playoff performance, he could get over $10.5 million. There are reports he wants $12 million, and the negotiations will probably start there.
Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens makes the most with a $10.5 million AAV, followed by Sergei Bobrovsky at $10 million AAV. After that, it is Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has an AAV of $9.5 million. The belief is that contract negotiations will begin around $10 million and could increase.
Shesterkin put up great numbers in the playoffs with a 2.34 goals-against average, a .927 save percentage, and 10 wins in 16 games. In the regular season, Shesterkin was shaky early but picked up late with a record of 36-17-2 in 55 games with a 2.58 GAA and a .913 save percentage. There is a reason why he is the number one goalie in the NHL.
That would be a win if Drury and Rangers can get him in for a discount around Connor Hellebuyck‘s AAV of $8.5 million. However, if Shesterkin gets to free agency, teams will look for his services and pay him with the cap going up.
Again, each free agent situation is different. But it might be best for the Rangers to let Igor Shesterkin walk.
