With Igor Shesterkin quickly establishing himself as the number one goalie for the Rangers, there had been speculation that Alexandar Georgiev had requested a trade. Speaking with reporters, including Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the netminder put that idea to rest:
The rumors were false, I don’t know where that came from. You can be dealt pretty much as a player without a no-move clause, so I just worked as usual and tried not to think about it.
While he may not have asked for a move, the fact he was in trade speculation was certainly understandable. The four-year, $22.667MM contract given to Shesterkin this offseason cements him in that starting role moving forward, pushing Georgiev’s future with the team in question. Georgiev himself indicated that last season was “tough” and “no fun” where he was in the number two role, making just 18 starts while posting a 2.71 GAA along with a .905 SV%.
The 25-year-old is in the final season of his two-year bridge deal, one that carries a cap hit of $2.425MM while he will be owed a qualifying offer of $2.65MM next summer. Both of those numbers are certainly reasonable for a second-string backup but if Georgiev has eyes on a bigger role, that opportunity will have to come elsewhere barring a long-term injury to Shesterkin.
Young goalies with some upside – Georgiev has a career .912 SV% in 96 games – don’t typically come available too often and there are certainly some rebuilding teams that have openings to give him a bigger role. As a result, while Georgiev may not have asked out, he’s still quite likely to be in trade speculation for the foreseeable future.
Yerplan
Please Rangers trade his ass
well he is from the city of Ruse after all
No wonder why D’Angelo hit him.
Wow hot take Bobby
That’s hilarious
He is a fine backup, just never heard from bob froze this much.
My take on it is that he’ll be trader at the TDL. NYR will have no money to re-sign him if they want to keep Strome.
Strome might be gone too,
With Mika’s extension they’ll be hard pressed to sign the younger guys that will be due for RFA, if they sign Strome long term. Packaging them both and a prospect for a legit #2 center makes a lot of sense.
We are not getting a legit number two center for Strome and Georgiev. I just don’t see it. Strome could be a very good number 3 on playoff teams and a 2 on non playoff teams but he’s too small and does not win face offs. We need a physical number two center that can get the puck to his scorers and win big face offs and battles in front of the net. They are very hard to come by. OReilly is the ideal number two center in this league and would be that perfect fit for contending teams but the Rangers cannot afford him and he’s not available anyway.
Strome reminds me of Derek Stepan. Adding a D prospect and sprinkle it with a draft pick along with Georgiev and Strome may do it. Miller would certainly attract interest if part of that package.
Bobby Holik is available
Trade him and bring up Wall