Igor Shesterkin Reportedly Rejects Rangers’ Latest Contract Offer
New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin appears to be on the verge of becoming the NHL’s highest-paid netminder – once the club reaches his asking price, that is.
The 28-year-old recently turned down the club’s 11-year, $88-million contract offer that would’ve surpassed Montreal Canadiens netminder Carey Price’s $84-million deal as the highest at his position, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported Tuesday.
Shesterkin is entering the final season of a four-year, $22.67-million contract and can become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
The 28-year-old’s current deal carries a cap hit of $5.67 million. But that figure would’ve jumped to $11 million if he accepted the Rangers’ latest offer, becoming the highest AAV for a goaltender in NHL history.
As of now, Shesterkin’s $5.67-million cap hit ranks 11th-highest among goaltenders league-wide, per PuckPedia. Which is why many experts believe he and his agent, Maxim Moliver, are looking to reset the goaltender market with his next contract.
Additionally, his camp may also be attempting to surpass Artemi
Panarin’s team-leading $11.6-million cap hit to cement his status as New York’s most valuable player.
Since his breakout 2020-21 campaign, the Russian netminder has been considered amongst the best in hockey, ranking second in save percentage (.920) and fourth in goals-against average (2.42) and wins (125) during that span. He’s also tied for third in shutouts with 15.
Shesterkin was crowned the goaltender of the year in 2021-22 as the Vezina Trophy winner after leading the league with a 2.07 GAA and .935 SV% across 53 starts. He’s been selected to consecutive All-Star Games over the past two seasons, finishing fourth in Vezina voting a year ago.
Last season, the 2014 fourth-round selection endured a slow start out of the gate but picked up the pace in the second half, finishing with a solid 2.58 GAA and .912 SV% in 55 contests, earning four shutouts. Despite those results, he came up one win short of matching his career-high of 37, set in 2022-23.
The goalie market has been extremely active in the days leading up to opening night of the 2024-25 campaign, which has seen Jeremy Swayman, Linus Ullmark, and Joey Daccord all sign new contracts.
Swayman, of course, was the lone netminder from that group not inked to a deal for this season until he agreed to an eight-year, $66-million extension earlier this week. With an $8.25-million AAV, he’s tied with New York’s Ilya Sorokin for fifth-highest among goaltenders, although both will surely drop down a spot once Shesterkin puts pen to paper.
While the 6-foot-1 goaltender hasn’t put an official deadline on contract negotiations, he’ll likely want to focus solely on the upcoming season once Game 1 of 82 arrives, intensifying pressure on both sides to reach an agreement sooner rather than later.
After winning the Presidents’ Trophy last season, the Rangers will begin this season in Pittsburgh with an opening-night matchup against the Penguins on Wednesday, where Shesterkin is expected to be starting between the pipes.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: David. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.