New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin shutout the Penguins on Wednesday night to open the 2024-25 season. Shesterkin became the first New York goalie to record a season-opening shutout since Gump Worsley in 1956. This performance comes after reports that Shesterkin rejected a major contract offer from the Rangers before the season began.
However, the New York goaltender had no interest in discussing those reports. He spoke to the media after the game where he refused to answer contract-related questions three times. In the end, he made it clear that he is not looking to talk about his contract situation at this time.
“I don’t want to talk about my contract,’’ he said, via Newsday’s Colin Stephenson. “If you want, we can talk about our team. We played a really good game today. So… I can really talk about Mancini, the Laffy goal, like, everything else.’’
Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin could reset the goalie market
Igor Shesterkin is one of the best goalies in the entire NHL. The Russian puckstopper has not recorded a save percentage lower than .913 in any of the four full seasons he’s played in the league. Dating back to 2020, Shesterkin ranks second in the league in save percentage and WAR, according to Evolving Hockey.
Shesterkin has helped the Rangers make some deep playoff runs, as well. New York has made the Eastern Conference Finals in two of the last three seasons, in fact. However, New York has been able to take that next step and make the Stanley Cup Final.
Other goaltenders around the league have received major contract extensions. For instance, Juuse Saros signed an eight-year contract with the Nashville Predators this past summer. More recently, Linus Ullmark received an extension from the Ottawa Senators. His contract runs for four seasons starting in July 2025.
Both goaltenders are incredible in their own right. In saying this, Shesterkin is in a league of his own. The Rangers netminder leads the NHL in Goals Saved Above Average and is second in Goals Saved Above Expected. Both Saros and Ullmark rank within the top 10 for these numbers. However, Shesterkin’s totals far outpace those two netminders.
Shesterkin has established himself in a class second to few. As a result, he could certainly reset the goaltending market when he does sign a new contract. In fact, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Shesterkin become the highest-paid goalie in NHL history on his next contract. This is a developing situation, and hockey fans will certainly want to monitor it as things unfold.
