Derek Lalonde Comments On The Igor Shesterkin Contact Situation

Derek Lalonde Comments On The Igor Shesterkin Contact Situation

We’re still in the early stages of the 2024-25 NHL Season. The Rangers beat the Red Wings 4-1 the other day, but it was the postgame presser that may have been overlooked after the fact. Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde had some interesting comments about Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin.

There was a report by Kevin Weekes at ESPN that indicated Shesterkin turned down an $88 million contract extension offer from New York. Lalonde chimed in and said Shesterkin was smart to turn that deal down.

“He’s special,” Lalonde said of the netminder postgame, according to NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. “I can see why he turned down the 88 (million dollars). Good agent.”

Are the New York Rangers genuine Stanley Cup contenders?

Few things to go over before we close this post out.

A: Is Lalonde really in a position to say things like this? He’s firmly on the hot seat and if the Red Wings miss the playoffs again, he’s probably going to get fired.

B: Did Lalonde leak Detroit’s plans to pursue Shesterkin if he were to hit free agency? The Wings don’t have an answer in net right now and they put Ville Husso on waivers already. Maybe Detroit is planning a mega offer for Shesterkin in the offseason? You can’t rule it out after these comments.

C: This is what happens when negotiations get leaked to the media. This is going to be a story all season long until this extension gets done. Every opposing team is going to be asked about it.

D: If the Rangers were smart, they would worry about getting Alexis Lafrenière extended before Shesterkin. With the $88 million offer, they have already acknowledged he will be the league’s highest-paid goalie. That offer already surpasses the record number held by Carey Price at $10.5 million AAV. How much more can the number really go up for Shesterkin? It’s Lafrenière who they need to get locked up before his price skyrockets. That’s what Trey would do.

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