Getty New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin on net.
The New York Rangers‘ best player grabbed all of the attention at the team’s June 4 end-of-season media availability.
Goalie Igor Shesterkin deflected a reporter’s question about his future with the team with a funny answer: “I’m sorry, I don’t speak English.”
Igor Shesterkin was asked if he is thinking about a long-term contract with the Rangers:
“I’m sorry, I don’t speak English” 😂
Shesterkin’s contract with the Rangers is set to expire after the 2024-25 season, so there is still time for both parties to agree to an extension before he enters (if he gets there) the free agent market in July 2025.
Igor Shesterkin Is Expected to Become Highest-Paid Goalie
Shesterkin signed a four-year deal worth $22.6 million in August 2021. As the team heads into the offseason, it will enter contract discussions with Shesterkin, according to multiple reports.
Shesterkin might seek a record-setting deal, with an annual value of up to $12 million, according to a June 2 report by Mollie Walker of The New York Post.
The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta and more insiders have shared similar information.
“Now that their season is over, the New York Rangers will soon begin formal contract discussions with Igor Shesterkin’s camp on an extension,” Pagnotta wrote in a post published on June 3. “He has one year remaining on his current contract and projects to be the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history.”
Shesterkin’s new contract will surpass the current highest annual average values (AAV) for all NHL goaltenders including Carey Price at $10.5 million, Sergei Bobrovsky at $10 million, and Andrei Vasilevskiy at $9.5 million if the negotiations go according to the projections.
ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton wrote that “New York’s first priority should be making Igor Shesterkin the NHL’s highest-paid goalie.”
Shesterkin’s Key Role in Rangers’ Postseason Run
The Rangers’ season ended short of the finals, but Shesterkin’s performances were the catalyst in their run to the conference finals.
Shesterkin faced 524 shots over 16 postseason games, maintaining a .926 save percentage and a 2.34 goals-against average. He saved 485 shots across that span.
Rangers center Vincent Trocheck gave Shesterkin his flowers during the team’s exit interviews.
“Shesty, I mean, he was our best player by a significant margin in the playoffs,” Trocheck said about Shesterkin on June 4. “If there was one guy I thought needed to hear that right after the loss — to kind of keep his spirits up — I just told him he was our best player and he deserved better.”
MoneyPuck estimates Shesterkin earned 13.1 goals saved above expected nearly doubling the figure put up by the second-best goalie with 16-plus postseason games.
Rangers’ Future Considerations & Offseason Outlook
As the Rangers look ahead to the next season, Shesterkin’s potential new contract looms large, but it’s not the only thing the franchise needs to handle ahead of the 2025 campaign.
That means fitting his “new money” in the cap might take some effort by the Rangers front office to make all pieces work within the franchise’s financials.
CapFriendly projected the 2024-25 salary cap will be around $87.7 million. As a consequence, Shesterkin’s potential new deal of a $12 million cap hit would account for approximately 13% of the team’s budget.
Moreover, the same site reports that the Rangers are entering the offseason with $11.3 million in cap space. That figure, however, only includes only 18 of the mandatory 23 players under contract.
The Rangers have five pending unrestricted free agents: Alex Wennberg, Jack Roslovic, Blake Wheeler, Erik Gustafsson, and Chad Ruhwedel. The franchise also has three pending, restricted free agents Kaapo Kakko, Ryan Lindgren, and Braden Schneider.