Because of all the (deserved) attention that Igor Shesterkin gets in New York, it’s easy to forget that the Rangers have another 26-year-old netminder that has shown flashes of brilliance over the last few years. Alexandar Georgiev sits with a .909 save percentage over 131 career appearances and is coming off a two-year contract that carried a cap hit of $2.45MM.
It’s that cap hit that makes things difficult for the Rangers, as arbitration looms this summer should the team issue the $2.65MM qualifying offer that Georgiev is owed, a total that isn’t all that appealing for a team that is going to be pushed right to the salary cap ceiling with some of the other extensions they will try to pull off. Georgiev may well end up unqualified altogether, which would make him an unrestricted free agent instead.
Because of that issue, Arthur Staple of The Athletic writes that Rangers general manager Chris Drury is “trying hard to find a trade partner” for Georgiev (who he refers to as “disgruntled”). Staple notes that the team was previously looking for a first-round pick in return, though that ask is now likely much lower now, as the offseason begins.
Undrafted, Georgiev made his NHL debut during the 2017-18 season after signing an entry-level contract and quickly showed that he could handle himself at that level. Unfortunately, the .918 save percentage he posted that first year has been steadily decreasing every season since and reached a career-low .898 in 2021-22. Giving up a draft pick or other asset just for the right to sign an .898 goaltender doesn’t sound very appealing, though with the relative lack of options on the market this summer, perhaps it will still be necessary for one of the teams looking at a goaltending change.
If they do trade him–or even if they just let him leave unqualified–it would open a spot for a more veteran option behind Shesterkin in a more traditional backup role. While there may not be a ton of starting options, there are several pending free agent backups that could be had for much less than that $2.65MM qualifying offer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Perfect fit for the Habs. Carey Price will end up on the LTIR to finish his career
I totally agree, best case our new goalie or trade bait, worst case he losses us games and we still win
Does the “we’ll get that backup with a small sample size to be our starter” move ever work?
Off the top of my head, in recent years, the best I can think of is Cam Talbot, who had a few stretches as a decent starter only to regress and need replaced several times.
Mikka Kiprusoff and Hasek did, but serve as the “exceptions that prove the rule” given how long ago and rare that was.
Does Bobrovsky count? Ben Bishop?
Bob, no. He was clearly the best of that mess they had in Philly and I cannot explain how hard I LOL’ed when the Flyers traded him.
Bishop is an interesting case.
He was more of a project prospect when he was moved from STL to OTT.
When he was moved from TB to DAL, he was a displaced former starter.
So, the question (and you are better poised to answer than I) is what was he in OTT before he went to TB?
117 starts is not a “small sample size”. That’s the equivalent of two years as a starter. There’s lots of data on him. Net, he’s average. But he seems to veer between pretty good and pretty bad. So, the questions are, does this variance relate to his usage, and can he become more consistent?
Sabres. Bridge goalie to their kids
Buffalo
Tronna
MTL
NJD
just to name a few.
$4M for 4 years would work.
This guy is a #1. 55 starts a year.
SJS?
Kahkonen and Hill?
Interesting that the Rangers believe he was worth a high pick during the season and now he might just walk. Some team will pick him up and see if he stands tall as a starter.
They don’t have a choice. Cap issues.
A team that needs a backup could take a flyer on Georgiev, sure. But let’s face facts. He had a quality season in 2019. But he was only average the next two seasons, and downright bad last year. Someone might give more than $2MM AAV to him, but he hasn’t proven he’s worth it.
The Rangers — about to be in cap hell — can’t afford him. They need to trade his rights to anyone who’ll take them, and either re-sign Kinkaid to a low-$ one year or bring in the likes of Olaf Lindbom to see what he can do.
I’d cut him some slack. It’s difficult to take the rust off for sporadic appearances. When Igor was out for a couple of weeks, he was strong after his first game and looked great. Carried the team while they lost the top goalie in the league. Give him adequate playing time like he got a few years ago and he should do well.
“But he was only average the next two seasons”. “Average” is good. “Average” means you were better than half the league. “Average” gets you a qualifying offer. His problem is last year, and even then he was spotty.
Lower SV% each year of his career…no thanks!