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Igor Shesterkin

Shesterkin Won’t Negotiate Extension During Season

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Mollie Walker of the New York Post confirmed today that All-Star netminder for the New York Rangers, Igor Shesterkin, would not negotiate an extension with the organization during the regular season. There hasn’t been any major news regarding a potential extension for Shesterkin which means the Rangers have a lot of ground to gain before their season opener in just over two weeks.

Walker also confirmed Shesterkin was seeking a $12MM AAV on his next contract, indicating New York would not be getting any hometown discount. It’s reasonable to assume the Rangers are content with making Shesterkin the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history. Still, other players need contracts for next season which may affect Shesterkin’s negotiations. New York will have roughly $33.8MM in cap space next summer if the salary cap reaches $92MM according to PuckPedia but will need to re-sign Shesterkin, Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere, William Cuylle, Ryan Lindgren, and K’Andre Miller.

Many industry experts expect the Rangers to move on from the last year of captain Jacob Trouba’s contract by next offseason which should open up another $8MM in salary cap space. Even assuming the team clears Trouba’s $8MM salary for next season there may be too many question marks remaining to commit $12MM a year to Shesterkin.

It’s difficult to argue from the standpoint of New York that Shesterkin hasn’t earned $12MM a year either. Over the last five years, he’s recorded a 135-59-17 record in 208 starts while posting a .921 save percentage and 2.43 goals-against average including one of the greatest individual seasons in goaltending history in 2021-22. He’s still only 28 years old meaning a max-term extension would take him through his prime into his age 37 season.

Shesterkin was outspoken about his desire to stay with the organization a few days ago when he said, “I love the organization. I love the team. I love the fans. So, of course, it would be great to stay here, but you never know what can happen“. The Rangers’ murky cap situation for next summer will certainly cut to their disadvantage if they can’t come to terms before October 9th.

Since Shesterkin and his camp are committed to earning the largest payday for any netminder in NHL history, the Rangers will have plenty of competition for his services if he makes it to free agency. There are currently only six teams projected to have lower than $12MM in cap space heading into the 2025-26 offseason which means any team with a long-term need for help in the net will be calling on Shesterkin.

New York still has 16 days from today to negotiate with Shesterkin before he blocks out any distraction for the 2024-25 NHL season. They will also have a small window between the last possible day of the Stanley Cup Final (June 23, 2025) and the opening of free agency (July 1, 2025) to sign Shesterkin to a long-term contract.

Morning Notes: Shesterkin, Ovechkin, Chychrun, Clifford

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Superstar goaltender Igor Shesterkin spoke highly of the Rangers organization, but added that you never know what can happen, when asked about his looming contract year shares Mollie Walker of the New York Post. Talks around Shesterkin’s next deal will be the contract negotiations to watch this season, likely to be the deal that sets the bar for goalie salaries.

That’s an apt responsibility for Shesterkin, perhaps the best goalie in the NHL. He’s coming off yet another strong season, posting 36 wins and a .913 save percentage in 55 starts – a stat line that ranked second, eighth, and 10th among the league’s goalies respectively. Those are dazzling numbers, but actually marked a career-low year for the 28-year-old, who managed a higher save percentage in each of his previous four seasons. That includes his Vezina-winning 2021-22 campaign, when Shesterkin set the second-highest save percentage since 2000 – a .935 in 53 games, then only behind Tim Thomas’ 2010-11 campaign, though Linus Ullmark has since split the bunch.

Either way, the down year is much more a testament to Shesterkin’s greatness than a sign of decline. Even at his worst, he sits among the absolute best goalies in the league. The Rangers will have the dreaded task of paying for that value next summer. They may need to prepare for a deal north of $10MM annually – which would put a second eight-figure man on the Rangers roster, next to Artemi Panarin.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Washington Capitals returned forward Alex Ovechkin and defender Jakob Chychrun to the practice ice early this morning, looking to catch both players up after Ovechkin missed parts of training camp with a small injury, while Chychrun faced an illness shares NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. Both players could be headed for top-line roles this season, making their conditioning a top priority for the playoff-hopeful Capitals. Ovechkin in particular will be the focus of the hockey world this year, sitting just 42 goals back from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record. He’s hit that scoring mark on 13 different occasions, including as recent as the 2022-23 campaign. That record, and their role in Washington’s long-term success, will make Ovechkin and Chychrun two names to watch closely through the rest of the Capitals training camp.
  • Veteran bruiser Kyle Clifford has been designated as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, shares David Alter of The Hockey News. Clifford signed a minor-league deal with the Toronto Marlies last month, giving him room to join yet another Maple Leafs training camp. He’ll be working towards his 15th professional season when he returns from injury. Last season marked the first year of that career where Clifford didn’t earn NHL ice time, though he stayed true to form with 140 penalty minutes in 53 AHL games.

Snapshots: Sharks, Shesterkin, Perfetti, Clutterbuck

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The San Jose Sharks have rounded out their kinesiological staff with the hiring of Will Leonard as head athletic trainer, Ryan Ledwon as assistant athletic trainer, and Patrick Dugan as assistant strength and conditioning coach according to beat reporter Max Miller.

Leonard will take over as the team’s second athletic trainer for the team since the 1997-98 season. The position was previously held by Ray Tufts who was relieved of duties the same day as former-head coach David Quinn on April 24th of this year. Leonard had previously served as the head athletic trainer for the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda before working under Tufts for the last two years with the Sharks as an assistant athletic trainer.

Ledwon and Dugan are rookies to the organization with the former having experience in his role with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls of the Anaheim Ducks organization. Dugan’s new role with the Sharks will be marked as his first position in professional hockey.

Other snapshots:

  • All signs point to Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin eclipsing the retired Carey Price to become the league’s highest-paid goalie, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on Friday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast. If that’s the case, his inevitable extension to keep him off the free agent market in 2025 will check in with a cap hit north of $10.5MM. The Rangers already have over $58MM tied up for 2025-26 with only 10 players signed, per PuckPedia.
  • Jets RFA Cole Perfetti may still be without a contract, but the young forward has returned to Winnipeg to train before hopefully signing a new deal before training camp, Darren Dreger of TSN reports. Dreger adds that Perfetti, 22, still intends to represent the Jets at next week’s player media tour in Las Vegas, even if he doesn’t have a deal. Multiple Winnipeg-based pundits have posited a two-year bridge deal is the most likely outcome. However, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period said yesterday that Perfetti’s camp is still awaiting a firm offer from the Jets.
  • Free agent winger Cal Clutterbuck has spurned PTO offers as he continues to search for guaranteed employment next season, reports James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now. Clutterbuck, who turns 37 in November, is on the open market after spending the last 11 years in an Islanders uniform, plying his trade as a valuable fourth-line checking presence. The 2006 third-round pick of the Wild played in all 82 games last season for the first time in his 17-year NHL career, posting seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed to this article. 

Igor Shesterkin, Rangers In Extension Talks

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The 2024-25 goalie free-agent class may take a major hit in the coming weeks as the New York Rangers continue engaging Igor Shesterkin in extension negotiations. Shesterkin was recently asked about the prospect of a new deal with the Rangers in an interview with RG.org where he said, “My agent, Maxim Moliver, is talking to the general manager. I can’t say anything else. For me, the most important thing now is preparing for the season and being 100% ready mentally and physically. An exciting season is ahead, and the agent will discuss the contract“.

Shesterkin is letting his agent do most of the heavy lifting like many players of his caliber. The 28-year-old Russian netminder is coming off a tremendous five years in New York with a 135-59-17 record in 208 starts with a .921 save percentage and 2.43 goals against average. Shesterkin is seeing his four-year, $22.67MM contract expire after the 2024-25 NHL season where he would become the best free-agent goaltender in some time.

According to HockeyReference, Shesterkin holds similar similarity scores to goaltending greats such as Roberto Luongo, Connor Hellebuyck, and Sergei Bobrovsky through the first five years of their career. All three netminders landed handsome contracts throughout their career and Shesterkin is set to match or exceed their salary markers on his next contract.

The Moscow native will surely be looking for north of $8.5MM season given that Helleybuyck landed an $8.5MM AAV over seven years last summer with the Winnipeg Jets. A few months ago, Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic speculated that Shesterkin could seek as high as $12MM a year to set a new yearly average for goaltenders. The Rangers could theoretically shell out that asking price but have several other contracts to work through next summer, as well.

Realistically, Shesterkin should land anywhere between $9MM-$11MM annually with Evolving-Hockey predicting a $9.455MM salary on an eight-year deal. With Shesterkin’s agent handling most of if not all the extension negotiations, these talks could drag on well into the 2024-25 NHL season. Nevertheless, the Vezina-trophy-winning goaltender has confidence it will get done before he can hit the open market next offseason.

Metro Notes: Shesterkin, Necas, Mercer

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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.

East Notes: Shesterkin, Marner, Senators

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Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin is extension-eligible this summer as he’ll be entering the final year of his contract in July.  It’s well-known he’s in line for a sizable raise from his current $5.667MM AAV; Mollie Walker of the New York Post posits that it’s possible the 28-year-old doubles that amount.  She pegs $10.5MM as the likely floor for discussions, an AAV that would match Montreal’s Carey Price for the all-time record price tag for a goalie.  Considering that deal was signed back in 2017, the equivalent cap percentage today would be $12.32MM so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Shesterkin’s camp come in around that number for their initial ask.  He posted a 2.58 GAA and a .912 SV% in 55 starts during the regular season but was quite strong in the playoffs, improving those numbers to 2.34 and .936 respectively in 16 starts.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • While Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner has been a speculative trade candidate following their opening-round playoff exit, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reported on his latest SDPN podcast (video link) that the team has not fully committed to the idea of trying to move him just yet. The 27-year-old had another productive regular season that saw him record 85 points in 69 games but struggled in the playoffs, notching just a goal and two assists in their seven-game loss to Boston.  He’s entering the final year of his contract, one that carries a $10.903MM cap charge although it’s worth noting that with a full no-move clause, it’s Marner that will ultimately decide his next destination or even if there will be a next destination in the coming months.
  • With their NHL coaching staff now finalized, the Senators are turning their focus to AHL Belleville, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Head coach David Bell’s contract is set to expire at the end of the month although discussions on a new agreement are now underway.  GM Steve Staios indicated that he hopes to get things finalized for their farm team within the next few days.

East Notes: Shesterkin, Rajanimei, Bednar

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The New York Rangers will reportedly begin contract extension talks with superstar goaltender Igor Shesterkin when their window to do so opens on July 1st (as per David Pagnotta). The 28-year-old has one season remaining on the four-year $22,666,667 he signed in August 2021 and will likely top Carey Price’s $10.5MM AAV to become the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history. Price’s contract remains active on Montreal’s books and is followed by Sergei Bobrovsky’s $10MM AAV and Andrei Vasilevskiy’s $9.5MM AAV.

The 2022 Vezina Trophy winner saw his regular season numbers fall off as he posted a 36-17-2 record with a .912 save percentage and a 2.58 goals-against average. His biggest drop off was his goals saved above expected where he dropped by 16 goals saved down to 12.1. As pedestrian as his regular season numbers were (by his standards), Shesterkin found his game in the playoffs and was dominant in helping the Rangers to the Conference Finals. He currently sits in second place in goals saved above expected with 13.1 goals saved in just 16 games and posted a .926 save percentage.

In other Eastern Conference notes:

  • Stefen Rosner of NHL.com is reporting that the New York Islanders have lost the NHL rights to 2020 sixth-round draft pick Matias Rajaniemi, however, the defenseman had previously signed an AHL deal to play with the Islanders affiliate in Bridgeport. Rajaniemi signed the AHL deal back in March and is free to sign with any NHL team, however, as Rosner points out that doesn’t happen very often. The 21-year-old has yet to suit up in North America but does have good size at 6’4” and 203 pounds.
  • Max Bultman of The Athletic tweeted that the Detroit Red Wings lost the NHL rights to goaltender Jan Bednar, however, the 21-year-old quickly signed an AHL deal with the Red Wings affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins. The one-year deal will keep the former fourth-round pick in the Red Wings organization after he spent last season in the ECHL with the Toledo Walleye. Bednar is a good size at 6’4” and 200 pounds and is very gifted athletically. By signing Bednar to an AHL deal, Detroit and Grand Rapids have an opportunity to evaluate the netminder for another season before deciding their next course of action.

NHL Names Eastern Conference All-Stars

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Sportsnet is reporting that the NHL has named the first 16 selections from the Eastern Conference. These players will appear in the NHL All-Star Game that will take place February 3rd in Toronto.

The game will be held in Canada for the first time since 2012 when it was held in Ottawa. Toronto hasn’t hosted the game since 2000 and it will be highlighted by Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews who was named alongside 15 other Eastern Conference players.

The league names one player to represent each team at the game, all of whom will be named this evening. After which the final 12 players will be decided by a fan vote on NHL.com as well as several of the NHL’s social media platforms.

The initial Eastern Conference players are as follows:

Atlantic Division

Boston: RW David Pastrnak (3rd appearance)
Buffalo: D Rasmus Dahlin  (1st appearance)
Detroit: RW Alex DeBrincat (1st appearance)
Florida: C Sam Reinhart (1st appearance)
Montreal: C Nick Suzuki (3rd appearance)
Ottawa: LW Brady Tkachuk (4th appearance)
Tampa Bay: RW Nikita Kucherov (5th appearance)
Toronto: C Auston Matthews (3rd appearance)

Metropolitan Division

Carolina: F Sebastian Aho (1st appearance)
Columbus: C Boone Jenner (1st appearance)
New Jersey: C Jack Hughes (3rd appearance)
NY Islanders: C Mathew Barzal (1st appearance)
NY Rangers: G Igor Shesterkin (2nd appearance)
Philadelphia: C Travis Konecny (1st appearance)
Pittsburgh: C Sidney Crosby (6th appearance)
Washington: LW Tom Wilson (1st appearance)

The first 16 Western Conference all-stars will be named during the first intermission of tonight’s matchup between the Boston Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

More to come…

Ryan Lindgren And Igor Shesterkin Expected To Play Saturday; Rangers Recall Connor Mackey

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The Rangers are getting some good news for their lineup on Saturday as Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Journal News relays that Ryan Lindgren will return after suffering an upper-body injury against Columbus while Igor Shesterkin should also return after missing four games.  Despite that, the team also announced (Twitter link) that they’ve brought up Connor Mackey from AHL Hartford.

With New York having a long layoff between games, the only time that Lindgren wound up missing was the third period of Sunday’s contest against Columbus.  The 25-year-old has just a single assist through his first 13 games so far this season while averaging a little over a hit and block per game in 19:33 per night of action.

Meanwhile, Mackey is no stranger to the up-and-down shuffling; this is his fifth recall this month.  Despite the promotions, the 27-year-old has yet to play for the Rangers this season but has gotten into nine games with the Wolf Pack where he has a goal and three assists.  Mackey cleared waivers in training camp after spending last season in a depth role between Calgary and Arizona.  His presence on New York’s roster is likely for insurance purposes in case Lindgren has a late setback and can’t play against New Jersey.

As for Shesterkin, the 27-year-old is off to another strong start to the season with a 2.36 GAA and a .913 SV% in his first eight appearances.  The 2021-22 Vezina winner had been dealing with undisclosed soreness.  Veteran Jonathan Quick did quite well in Shesterkin’s absence and is off to a great start of his own with a 1.98 GAA and a .928 SV% in his first six appearances but Shesterkin will almost certainly go back to getting the lion’s share of the workload having been cleared to return.

Metro Injury Notes: Capitals, Fox, Chytil, Shesterkin

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The Washington Capitals got off to a slow start under rookie head coach Spencer Carbery, but more recently they have begun to turn things around. They are currently right in the thick of a hotly contested Metropolitan Division, and they have as much of a chance to return to the playoffs after last year’s miss as any team. One of the major things that has hurt the Capitals this season has been injuries, although the team could be getting good news on that front soon.

GM Brian MacLellan told team reporter Tarik El-Bashir that defenseman Joel Edmundson and forward Nic Dowd are nearing a return from injury, and the hope is that both can return to team practice later this week. Edmundson has yet to make his debut for the Capitals, who acquired him for third and seventh-round picks this summer, but he would likely take Alexander Alexeyev’s spot on the left side of the Washington defense. Dowd, 33, is a veteran fourth-liner who has played for the Capitals since 2018-19. His return would likely allow the team to return its current fourth-line center, Hendrix Lapierre, back to the AHL, a move that might better suit his development.

Some more injury notes from the Metro:

  • The New York Post’s Mollie Walker relays word from New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette that Adam Fox and Filip Chytil are both progressing from their injuries, but have not returned to skating yet. That means any return to game action is still a ways off, though it is encouraging that Laviolette appears to expect both to return to the Rangers without any massive absence. With Fox on LTIR after a nasty collision against the Hurricanes, there was some worry in the New York market that their top defenseman’s season was in question. Now, based on Laviolette’s comments, it appears Fox’s season is not in danger.
  • Walker also delivered an update on Rangers star netminder Igor Shesterkin, who is out with an injury of his own. Walker reports that Shesterkin skated this morning, although he’s not quite ready to return to full game action. As a result, Jonathan Quick will start for the Rangers tonight against the Detroit Red Wings, while veteran Louis Domingue will serve as the backup.

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