Injury Notes: Shesterkin, Landeskog, Kadri
There’s some good news for the New York Rangers coming soon. NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reports that although goalie Igor Shesterkin won’t dress tonight, he’s “making progress” after taking the ice at practice this morning. Shesterkin was classified as day-to-day after a scary-looking lower-body injury last week forced him out of the lineup and onto injured reserve. He had an impeccable .937 save percentage through 18 games this year, and should certainly still be considered a candidate for the Vezina Trophy at this point in time. Backup Alexandar Georgiev has risen to the occasion after a tough start, though, posting a save percentage above .920 in three straight Rangers wins with Shesterkin absent.
More injury notes, both from Denver:
- Injuries continue to hold back the Avalanche in 2021-22, as head coach Jared Bednar said today that captain Gabriel Landeskog will miss roughly two weeks with a lower-body injury. All of their top trio of him, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen has missed time this season. Landeskog was a main focal point of Colorado’s offense, netting 27 points through 22 games this year. Andre Burakovsky will slot in his place alongside MacKinnon and Rantanen for the time being.
- After missing Friday’s game with a lower-body injury, Nazem Kadri will be out again tonight but will likely be back Tuesday, according to Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater. Kadri has been the glue of this team throughout their injury troubles this year, scoring 23 assists and 34 points through just 22 games. Mikhail Maltsev, who was recalled today, will get into the lineup with Kadri’s absence.
Igor Shesterkin Placed On Injured Reserve
The New York Rangers have moved starting goaltender Igor Shesterkin to injured reserve with a lower-body injury, but it appears as though he may have avoided a long-term absence. Head coach Gerard Gallant explained that the team is confident that Shesterkin will be back in a week, missing only the team’s next three games. An IR stint means he will be off the roster for a minimum of seven days.
The team has recalled Adam Huska in the meantime, as veteran Keith Kinkaid is believed to be in quarantine due to a COVID outbreak with the Hartford Wolf Pack, according to Arthur Staple of The Athletic. Huska was basically the only option, given 23-year-old Tyler Wall is the only other goaltender signed to an NHL contract in the organization. Wall has 19 games of professional experience, eight of them coming at the ECHL level this season.
Huska isn’t much further along in his career, but with Shesterkin only expected to miss a few games the 24-year-old likely isn’t going to make an appearance anyway. The team will lean on Alexander Georgiev for the time being, as they take on the Chicago Blackhawks (tonight and Tuesday) and Colorado Avalanche (Wednesday). Shesterkin could be activated in time for next Friday’s match, though obviously, the medical staff will have to see how he responds during his week off.
The Rangers have taken a huge step forward this season and much of that is thanks to the outstanding play of Shesterkin, who currently leads the NHL in wins with 13. The 25-year-old netminder has posted a .937 save percentage through 18 appearances and is very much in the mix (or perhaps leading) for the Vezina Trophy. Gallant points out that “rest won’t hurt” the young goaltender, and news of his return in just a week will allow Rangers fans to breathe a huge sigh of relief after what looked like a potentially serious injury last night.
New York Rangers Agree To Terms With Igor Shesterkin
The New York Rangers have agreed to terms with starting goaltender Igor Shesterkin to a four-year contract. According to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, the deal will carry an average annual value of $5.65MM. Shesterkin had been eligible to file for arbitration but decided not to this offseason. CapFriendly reports that the deal breaks down as follows:
2021-22: $2MM, $1MM signing bonus
2022-23: $6MM
2023-24: $5MM, $2MM signing bonus, 10-team NTC
2024-25: $6.667MM base, 10-team NTC
As Seravalli notes, this is the largest second contract for a goaltender in league history. Shesterkin is signing away two UFA years with the deal given he is already 25, meaning it was never going to come cheap. The Rangers goaltender finished fifth in Calder Trophy voting this year after posting a .916 save percentage in 35 games, dropping his overall number to .921 in 47 career NHL appearances. That career number is an outstanding one for a young goaltender, and one that if it continues, will have him in the race for other awards in the future.
Success in the NHL shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given Shesterkin’s history at the professional level. In his 117 KHL games before coming to North America, which included three full seasons, he posted an 88-19-15 record, 1.68 goals-against average and .935 save percentage. In his short stint with the Hartford Wolf Pack during the 2019-20 season, he posted a .934 in 25 appearances, going 17-4-3. It’s hard to see anything but stardom in the future for Shesterkin, and the Rangers are betting on it with this huge early contract.
Of course, a commitment like this will raise questions about the other young netminder in New York, as Alexandar Georgiev approaches the end of his own contract. The 25-year-old will be an RFA for the final time next summer, coming off his two-year deal signed in 2020. There have been flashes of brilliance from Georgiev too, and with the starting role now blocked for the Rangers, it will be interesting to see if he even entertains a long-term deal, tries to reach free agency as quickly as possible, or if GM Chris Drury trades him before the decision needs to be made.
The Rangers have exited their rebuild and are now intending on competing for the playoffs and the Stanley Cup. Shesterkin was obviously their best chance at that, and he’ll now be locked up through 2024-25. That doesn’t represent the biggest window, given he could potentially leave as a UFA after that, but at least gives the team a goaltender they can feel confident in at a workable (though not inexpensive) price.
Rangers Making Progress On Igor Shesterkin Contract
When Sunday’s arbitration-filing deadline came and went without Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin being on that list, it caught some by surprise. However, it appears there was a reason for that as USA Today’s Vince Z. Mercogliano reports that the two sides are making progress on an agreement in the $5.75MM to $6MM per season range. Evidently, those discussions have gone well enough without needing to put the pressure point of a hearing in place.
The 25-year-old was drafted in the fourth round by the Rangers back in 2014 but they had to wait a long time to sign him; Shesterkin only came to North America two years ago. After spending most of his rookie campaign in the minors, Shesterkin was New York’s starter last season, posting a 16-14-3 record along with a 2.62 GAA and a .919 SV%, numbers that were both better than the league average. At this point, he’s clearly their starter of the present and future which is why Alexandar Georgiev has been in trade speculation for more than a year now.
One of the challenges in finding a viable deal that works for both sides is Shesterkin’s lack of experience as he has just 48 career appearances under his belt (including one playoff game in the bubble in 2020). There aren’t many comparables to work with which would have made an arbitration hearing particularly interesting. Vancouver’s Thatcher Demko was one of those reasonable comparable options but it appears his five-year, $25MM will represent more of the floor than the ceiling.
The Rangers have ample cap space to work with to fit Shesterkin’s eventual contract in as they have more than $13MM in cap room per CapFriendly with only the netminder and blueliner Libor Hajek to re-sign. Getting this deal done sooner than later would give GM Chris Drury a better idea of what he’s able to spend this summer and between this report and the fact his camp didn’t file for arbitration suggests they’re getting close to having an agreement in place.
Free Agent Focus: New York Rangers
Free agency is now just under a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. The Rangers are more concerned with the latter than the former, with few impending UFAs of note but quite a few impact RFAs.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Pavel Buchnevich – Buchnevich is one of four of the Rangers’ top-twelve scoring forwards without a contract for next season, alongside Chytil, Gauthier, and Di Giuseppe, but is by far the most important. Buchnevich finished third in per-game scoring for New York this year, behind only stars Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad. His 48 points were two more than his 2019-20 total, but in 14 fewer games. Buchnevich’s consistent scoring paired with his defensive improvements and success on both special teams units led to an increase in ice time to 18:44 per game, top line minutes again behind only Zibanejad and Panarin. Buchnevich timed this breakout year well; the 26-year-old forward is now a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. This is not an aberration either, as Buchnevich has shown steady improvement throughout his career and is firmly established as a top-six forward with 20-goal and 50-point regularity. The Rangers will have no choice but to pay up, short-term or long-term, with an unfavorable arbitration decision, not to mention the animosity created by the process, as a looming threat.
G Igor Shesterkin – The Rangers may have two young goaltenders in the pros and a multitude of talented prospects in the pipeline, but make no mistake: Shesterkin is invaluable. The 25-year-old netminder has only played in 47 games across two seasons since coming over from the KHL, but has been superb with a .921 save percentage, 2.59 GAA, and a .611 points percentage in his decisions for a team that has played at a .552 clip over the past two years. Shesterkin is the best of the bunch in net in New York and the Rangers need to lock him up on a multi-year deal, regardless of his lack of NHL experience. Shesterkin’s arbitration eligibility ensures that they will have to pay him fairly as well. Shesterkin is close to unrestricted free agency and the worst thing the team could do is sign what looks to be a solid NHL starter to a short-term deal (or settle for an arbitration decision) only to see him continue to perform or even improve and then price himself out of town.
Other RFAs: F Filip Chytil, D Brandon Crawley, F Gabriel Fontaine, F Julien Gauthier, F Tim Gettinger, D Libor Hajek, G Adam Huska, F Patrick Newell, F Ty Ronning, D Yegor Rykov
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D Brendan Smith – It wasn’t long ago that Smith’s contract was one of the most criticized in the NHL as he was buried in the minors in the first season of a four-year, $17.4MM deal with the Rangers. In the years since, he has somewhat recovered to become a good albeit still overpaid depth defenseman for New York. Smith has played in over 80% of the Rangers’ games over the past three seasons since his abysmal debut season, providing physicality and defensive stability and, for the first time in 2020-21, more secure puck-handling and a hint more offense. With a deep stable of talented young defensemen, the Rangers don’t need Smith. However, they could do far worse than someone with versatility, checking ability, and veteran experience as a depth option. He would come much cheaper this time around as well, as Smith is unlikely to have a competitive market as a free agent.
F Phil Di Giuseppe – At 27 years old with only 201 career games and 53 career points, Di Giuseppe has not much more than a depth option during his time in the NHL and likely won’t be. However, he proved to be valuable in that role in two seasons with New York, playing a gritty checking game and contributing some modest offense. Di Giuseppe’s success as a plug-and-play bottom-six forward is not limited to his time with the Rangers either, as some of his best seasons were playing the same role with the Carolina Hurricanes. As an affordable extra man, Di Giuseppe has value to the Rangers as an extension candidate, but he may be on the lookout for more opportunity rather than staying on a New York roster that is deep in young players in need of ice time and hoping to add more veterans this off-season.
Other UFAs: D Jack Johnson, D Darren Raddysh
Projected Cap Space
While Buchnevich and Shesterkin will earn considerable deals this summer and Chytil is deserving of a sizeable raise as well, the Rangers remain in good shape with the salary cap. They currently project to have $22.89MM in cap space with 18 players on the NHL roster, but that includes third-string goaltender Keith Kinkaid and cap charge for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, who will be traded or at worst bought out in the off-season. A more accurate projection is closer to $25.5MM with 17 players on the roster. New deals for Gauthier, Hajek, and possibly Smith or Di Giuseppe (or replacements) should come cheap, leaving plenty of room to re-sign the key trio of RFA’s with room to spare to add another impact forward or two.
Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
New York Rangers Buy Out Henrik Lundqvist
Sep 30: The Rangers have officially announced the buyout. Because of his no-movement clause, there was no need for unconditional waivers. In the press release, Rangers president John Davidson outlined some of the reasons Lundqvist meant so much to the city of New York:
We would like to thank Henrik for his immeasurable contributions to the New York Rangers. From the time I met Henrik when he first came to New York in 2005, he has been the consummate professional. His tireless work ethic, passion for the game, and love of the Rangers and New York City enabled him to become one of the greatest goaltenders in hockey and one of the best players in the history of our franchise. We all wish Henrik and his family the best going forward.
Sep 29: The end of an era is upon us. After 15 years of brilliant play in the New York net, the Rangers and decorated goaltender Henrik Lundqvist are set to part ways. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the Rangers will buy out the final year of Lundqvist’s contract, with an announcement expected on Wednesday. At 38, Lundqvist will be an unrestricted free agent for the very first time.
As Dreger explains, this was not an easy decision for New York. Few players have meant as much to a team in NHL history as Lundqvist has to the Rangers since 2005. The potential future Hall of Famer was a Vezina Trophy winner, a First-Team All-Star, and a wins leader, among many other honors in his long career. Lundqvist leads all active goaltenders in career games played, saves, shutouts, and goals saved above average, acting as a workhorse starter for the Blueshirts for much of his career. While he still has a chance to build on this reputation, it won’t be in New York. The team explored all options, but must move forward with young upstart keepers Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev, leaving no room on the roster for Lundqvist, especially at his high cap hit.
With just one year remaining on the seven-year, $59.5MM contract that Lundqvist signed back in 2013, the buyout will only impose penalties against the salary cap for two seasons. CapFriendly projects that Lundqvist’s $4.5MM base salary and $1MM signing bonus in this final year will count toward the salary cap in full for a total hit of $5.5MM in 2020-21. In 2021-22, the penalty will be just $1.5MM. The $3MMM in savings this season for the Rangers will give the team even more flexibility to re-sign their pending restricted free agents while also exploring the free agent market for additional help.
Lundqvist meanwhile will hit a free agent market that is already chock full of goalies, most of whom are not coming off the worst season of their careers. Quickly approaching 40 and in steep decline over the past four or five years, it is hard to imagine Lundqvist getting any more than a small, one-year contract to serve as a backup. However, the decorated netminder already has plenty of money and accolades. All he wants at this point in his career is to sign with a team that give him the one thing he doesn’t have: a Stanley Cup.
Injury Notes: Scheifele, Schmaltz, Fast, Hamilton
The Winnipeg Jets may have lost their top center and top sniper in the same game, as both Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine left last night’s test against the Calgary Flames with an injury. Scheifele’s in particular looked serious, as he collided with Matthew Tkachuk and fell to the ground bellowing in pain. The hit got quite the response from head coach Paul Maurice, who indicated today that both players were still undergoing examination, and updates would be issued later in the day.
If the Jets do lose Schiefele for the rest of the qualification round they’ll have to figure out an answer on the top line and find a way to dig themselves out of the early hole after losing to Calgary last night. Here’s more info about injuries around the league:
- Nick Schmaltz will not play in game one for the Arizona Coyotes after taking a high hit from Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves in the exhibition match. Schmaltz, the Coyotes leading scorer from the regular season, played in four playoffs games with Chicago in 2017 but hasn’t seen the postseason since. Youngster Barret Hayton will be making his own playoff debut after suiting up just 20 times this season.
- The New York Rangers are still not sure of Igor Shesterkin‘s availability for game two according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com, but will not have Jesper Fast in the lineup. Fast was hit hard by former teammate Brady Skjei and was forced from yesterday’s game after just a minute of ice time. The depth winger is a key part of the Rangers leadership group and recorded 29 points in 69 games this season.
- Dougie Hamilton is getting better according to head coach Rod Brind’Amour, but won’t be in the lineup for Carolina tomorrow. The Hurricanes did just fine without their top offensive defenseman, but relied heavily on their top two pairings—Jake Gardiner played just 11:55 while Jaccob Slavin logged 24:40.
Snapshots: Rangers Injuries, Bowman, Kase, Schmaltz
Igor Shesterkin’s late scratch against Carolina today after being ruled unfit to play came as a surprise to many. Larry Brooks of the New York Post clarifies (Twitter link) that it’s believed to be an injury and not related to a positive COVID-19 test. He notes that the injury was likely either suffered at practice on Friday or during their tune-up game against the Islanders on Wednesday. Speaking with reporters postgame, head coach David Quinn told reporters, including Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press (Twitter link) that he’s unsure if Shesterkin will be available on Monday for the second game of the series.
Meanwhile, winger Jesper Fast left the game after the first shift after taking a hit from former Rangers teammate Brady Skjei. There’s no word yet on how long he may be out for.
Other news and notes from around the league:
- Blackhawks interim president Danny Wirtz confirmed to Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) that GM Stan Bowman has a multi-year contract. There were unconfirmed reports last summer that he had signed a new deal but there was no announcement by the team. Wirtz declined to indicate how long Bowman’s contract runs and didn’t provide a timeline for when the team may hire a replacement for former president John McDonough.
- Bruins winger Ondrej Kase has joined the team in Toronto, notes Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston. He missed all of training camp after being deemed unfit to participate and he will not suit up in the opening game of the round robin against Philadelphia. Considering how long it has been since he last skated, he’ll likely need several full practices before being given the green light to suit up.
- Coyotes center Nick Schmaltz is dealing with a sore neck from the hit he took from Ryan Reaves in Thursday’s exhibition game, mentions Richard Morin of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Head coach Rick Tocchet indicated that his availability for Sunday’s opener against Nashville is unknown. Despite the shortened season, Schmaltz set a career high in assists this season with 34 while leading the team in scoring with 45 points.
New York Islanders Sign Ilya Sorokin
Tuesday: The Islanders and Sorokin have already agreed to terms on his next contract, less than 24 hours after he signed his first one. The Russian netminder will sign a one-year deal for the 2020-21 season worth $2MM according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. This deal will still leave Sorokin as a restricted free agent in 2021 but gives the two sides a lot more time to work out a long-term deal.
The contract will carry a $1MM signing bonus and $1MM salary.
Monday: KHL star netminder Ilya Sorokin has made his much-anticipated leap to the NHL, albeit with a twist. Per agent Dan Milstein, Sorokin has signed a one-year entry-level contract with the New York Islanders, effective for the 2019-20 season. However, Sorokin is only eligible to join the team for training camp and cannot play in the upcoming postseason; yet, his contract will still be burned. This means that while the Islanders have finally signed Sorokin, he will need another contract this fall as a restricted free agent before he can ever suit up for the team.
Sorokin, 24, should be able to negotiate a pretty considerable deal for himself without any NHL experience, too. Like Igor Shesterkin of the rival New York Rangers, Sorokin has established himself as one the very best goalies outside of the NHL at a very young age. Stunningly, Sorokin made his KHL debut at just 17 years old, an unheard-of accomplishment for a goalie that young in any major pro league. His five games in 2012-13 jumpstarted his success in Russia, where he has a career .930 save percentage and 1.70 GAA in nearly 250 games. This included an unthinkable .953 save percentage and 1.06 GAA in 28 games in 2015-16 and a current streak of three straight seasons with a .930+ save percentage.
Sorokin will undoubtedly draw comparisons to Shesterkin in his rookie season in 2020-21, as the two bring their KHL duel to the Big Apple. While Shersterkin’s career KHL numbers are a tad better than Sorokin’s, they came in less than half as many games despite the two being the same age. Sorokin has a major experience advantage, so he should fair even better than Shesterkin with adjusting to the NHL. His Rangers counterpart recorded a .932 save percentage and 2.52 GAA in 12 games this season and seems to have won the starting role for his team. Expect Sorokin to aim for the same result and likely with more starts and better stats. Especially in an Islanders system that has elevated the play of keepers like Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss – who is now also likely to depart as a UFA – in recent years, it would not be shocking to see Sorokin with numbers among the league’s best next season as he splits time with Semyon Varlamov. In fact, Sorokin could have a strong case for the Calder Trophy in 2020-21.
So, while Islanders fans may be disappointed that they cannot see Sorokin sooner and that he cannot help out with a hopeful playoff run, they should still be excited for what is to come from the young Russian goaltender. With a deep, defensive-minded roster in front of him, Sorokin has the makings of a long-term, cornerstone keeper.
Goalie Notes: Fleury, Holtby, Lundqvist
The Vegas Golden Knights will presumably embark on a four-team round-robin to determine playoff seeding whenever play resumes. Given that it’s unlikely any team will play in front of a home crowd, the seeding doesn’t have quite the same impact as most years. Nonetheless, the mini-tournament will be an import return to play. For the Golden Knights, that means solidifying certain roster decisions, such as determining who is going to be in goal come playoff time. Peter DeBoer will be working with GM Kelly McCrimmon and President of Hockey Operations George McPhee to make final roster decisions, per The Athletic’s Jesse Granger. Marc-Andre Fleury is a living legend who led Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final in their first season, but time makes a mockery of us all, and just two years later, he could lose his starting gig to midseason acquisition Robin Lehner. Both netminders are likely to get a start during the round-robin phase, but it’s still probably Fleury’s job to lose, given his veteran status both in the league and on this particular team.
- In Washington, Caps’ coach Todd Reirden spoke with a number of reporters, including JJ Regan of NBC Sports, who reported that Braden Holtby will be in net – at least for now. Ilya Samsonov stands by should Holtby struggle. Holtby started 47 games this season to just 22 for the rookie Samsonov, but with Holtby’s .897 save percentage versus .913 save percentage for Samsonov, there’s at the question whether the Caps would be better off with the youngster in goal. The Caps are hoping for a better playoff result than last year’s disappointing first-round loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. It wasn’t exactly the title defense Alex Ovechkin and company had planned, but the Caps will get another chance to make good in the playoffs this season. They’ll need Holtby at his finest to make a run.
- In another potential changing of the guard, the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist landed on a list of potential buyout candidates this offseason from Sean Leahy of NBC Sports. There’s no doubt that Lundqvist is expensive next season with a cap hit of $8.5MM, but it’s difficult to imagine Rangers games without the Swede minding the net. Still, even if the Rangers deem apparent successor Igor Shesterkin to be ready, they’d still have to buyout Lundqvist for $5.5MM, which might not present enough savings to make the move worthwhile, not when they’d still need a second goalie. Alexander Georgiev, 24, is the other piece of this puzzle, the primary backup for the last couple of seasons and a restricted free agent this offseason.