Rangers sign Igor Shesterkin to a four-year deal
Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin reacts to a puck shot by Islanders' Anthony Beauvillier on April 20, 2021. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin II
Rangers GM Chris Drury continued checking off items on his lengthy list of offseason business Monday when he signed goaltender Igor Shesterkin to a four-year deal that Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported to be the largest ever given to a goaltender on his second contract, in both total dollars and average annual salary.
According to Seravalli, the deal is worth $22.666 million, which averages out to $5.66 million per season. Shesterkin, 25, was a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, but he declined to file for arbitration.
According to CapFriendly, signing Shesterkin puts the Rangers’ salary cap hit for 2021-22 at $72.678 million, leaving them with a projected $8.82 million in available space under the $81.5 million cap. The number includes 24 players – one more than the 23-man roster allowed – and does not include the team’s lone remaining RFA, defenseman Libor Hajek.
With those numbers, the Rangers would not have enough cap space to accommodate disgruntled Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel – at least, not without sending significant salary back to Buffalo in any deal. Eichel is under contract for five more years at an average annual salary of $10 million.
With Shesterkin now locked up, a trade for Eichel looking less and less likely, and with all the other player acquisitions Drury made this summer – trading for and then signing forwards Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves; signing free agent defensemen Patrik Nemeth and Jarred Tinordi – the Rangers roster looks pretty well set for the new season. That should allow Drury to focus on some of the other things on his summer to-do list, such as finalizing the coaching staff under Gerard Gallant, hiring an assistant general manager, and working on contract extensions for No. 1 center Mika Zibanejad and Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox.
A 6-2, 182-pound native of Moscow, Shesterkin was a fourth-round pick in the 2014 NHL draft and was considered the heir apparent to franchise icon Henrik Lundqvist as the Rangers’ No. 1 goaltender. Shesterkin came over from Russia in 2019 and started his first North American season in the minor leagues, with Hartford. But he dominated the AHL, prompting the Rangers to call him up in midseason.
After Shesterkin went 10-2 following his callup, the club bought Lundqvist out of the final year of his contract last offseason. In 2020-21, Shesterkin played in 35 games, going 16-14-3, with a 2.62 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage, and two shutouts. In his two seasons with the Blueshirts, he is 26-16-3, with a 2.59 GAA, .921 save percentage, and two shutouts.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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