The New York Rangers‘ loss of Igor Shesterkin for the remainder of the season has been nothing short of catastrophic for the organization. Still, the team doesn’t appear to be panicking at the moment.
As Elliotte Friedman noted on Saturday night, the Blueshirts aren’t about to go rushing into a deal for someone like Connor Hellebuyck, or anyone else for that matter.
But should there be a need for a goalie, the Rangers may just have their Shesterkin replacement in Montreal. Specifically, that replacement would be Samuel Montembeault.
Montembeault has been seemingly on the trade block for a long time now. The emergence of Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler have made the erstwhile Canadiens starter expendable. That’s why the club would like to move on from him and his $3.15 million cap hit.
While that’s a little high, it’s something New York could afford to squeeze into the cap. It would become even more feasible, once the club moves Shesterkin to LTIR.
However, there’s one thing to keep in mind here: Montembeault is currently on injured reserve. So, even if the Rangers made the deal at once, they would still have to wait a few days before the 29-year-old could suit up.
And that’s just enough time to figure out if the organization really needs to make a goalie trade at this point.
Rangers Need to Figure Out What They Have in Dylan Garand
The bottom line is that the Rangers are not going to jump headfirst into a goalie trade until they’re sure of what they’ve got in Dylan Garand. The 24-year-old started the season on waivers, and now has gotten the opportunity of a lifetime.
If he can take over the starting role, the Rangers won’t feel any pressure to make a move.
That situation could drastically change if Garand struggles. But it won’t be until the Rangers now know they’ve got that they can determine if a deal is warranted. Otherwise, they may be jumping the gun sooner than they would like to.
Garand needs an opportunity to show what he can do. And he’ll get that chance with the Rangers pretty much playing every other day for the next week or so. That should be enough time for Chris Drury to figure out where this team is going.
The only issue here would be that a sudden losing steak may precipitate a move.
Drury Has Plenty of Runway Here
Contrary to what most observers believe, Chris Drury has plenty of runway. The Rangers went from being one of the oldest clubs in the NHL to the youngest team in the league. That situation means that the team isn’t necessarily competing for the playoff spot.
In fact, this season’s strong start was more of a pleasant surprise than anything else.
That’s why there’s really no pressure on Drury to make a deal. If someone like Samuel Montembeault is available for a good price, and can provide reasonable depth for the organization, then so be it.
Otherwise, the Rangers might be better off just letting the chips fall where they may.
Rangers Could Find Their Shesterkin Replacement in Montreal