Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic speculated about how much goaltender Igor Shesterkin will be paid on his next contract with the New York Rangers. The 28-year-old is eligible to sign an extension on July 1st and given his play the last few seasons and his importance to the Rangers, it will likely be a record-breaking deal for a goaltender.
Shesterkin is reportedly looking for an AAV of $12MM, while most of the models Luszczyszyn uses to show his value are in the range of $9MM – $12MM annually. Given the volatility of the goaltending position, it’s fair to believe that Shesterkin could live up to a $12MM salary in some seasons of the deal, however, as he enters his 30s, it’s possible his play could fall off as it often does with goaltenders on the back half of their career.
In other Metropolitan Division notes:
- TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweeted that a few teams around the NHL are wondering if an offer sheet is a possibility for Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas. Carolina’s ask for the 25-year-old remains quite high, and the team has reportedly talked to almost every team around the league. Necas is a two-time 20-goal scorer who posted 24 goals and 29 assists in 77 games last season. The former first-round pick is a restricted free agent after making $3.5MM last season and will likely sign a lucrative long-term deal whether it’s an offer sheet or otherwise.
- Dawson Mercer was reportedly never part of the New Jersey Devils trade for goaltender Jacob Markstrom (as per Elliotte Friedman on The Jeff Marek Show). There was speculation that the 22-year-old was offered at one point, but Friedman poured cold water on that rumor saying that he had multiple sources tell him that the former first-round pick was never in the trade. Mercer took a step back last season but is just a year removed from posting 27 goals and 29 assists in 82 games.
A 4-year $12m per contract? Sure but rangers will lose heavily if it’s any longer than 5; they should copy baseball and offer a deal like $10.9×7 with opt outs (only this time for either side) after years 4 & 5…
7 years at 11.1 mil
Igor Shesterkin for $12 million AAV?!? That’s a rather steep price for a goaltender who hasn’t even made it to the Stanley Cup. He’s more around the $9 to $10 million not $12 million. I understand the goalie position is volatile & finding a prime starter is hard to find but Shesterkin was rather up & down throughout the season & was primarily benched at one point for the twilight years of Jonathan Quick. Shesterkin is worthy to keep but if I was NYR I would try to get him in the $9 to $10 million AAV range but if you have to sign him at an overprice of $11 or $12 million then NYR has to set the contract in a way that it still allows cap flexibility for themselves.
Sorokin is 8.25
Laine for Necas and Kotkaniemi.
XD
Hahaha. Laine might get you kotkaniemi IF you retain 50% of the salary. Nobody wants him right now.