Igor Shesterkin Agrees To Historic Rangers Extension

Igor Shesterkin Agrees To Historic Rangers Extension

Igor Shesterkin is the next shoe to drop in Madison Square Garden today. Hours after agreeing to send captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks, Chris Drury is giving into the demands of his star goaltender. The New York Rangers are signing the Russian superstar to an eight-year extension worth a historic amount of money. The AAV will land at $11.5 million, initially reported by ESPN’s Emily Kaplan and Kevin Weekes:

The New York Post is now reporting that the deal will total in $92 million. It’s not yet clear which side came back to the negotiating table today after a hectic week in the Big Apple. With trade rumors swirling over the past few weeks, the team in turn looks unstable. Heading into tonight’s game against the Penguins, the Blueshirts have lost six of their last seven games. The cherry on top was a 5-1 demolition job Monday night against the Devils. It was Shesterkin funnily enough who caved in against their rivals across the Hudson River. On the year, he is 8-9-1 with a 90.8 save percentage and 3.05 goals against average.

Overall, Igor owns a career record of 143-68-18 as a Ranger. The 2014 fourth-round pick won the Vezina in 2022 and has consistently been the best player not named Artemi Panarin. It’s a greedy thing to think that New York pivoted nearly immediately from the Hall-of-Famer Henrik Lundqvist straight to Shesty. While many will comment on the size of the commitment Drury made to his goalie, it’s hard to argue against it in a vacuum. The Rangers would probably not have even had the chance to battle the Panthers in the playoffs or win the President’s Trophy last year had it not been for him.

The Stove Is Still Hot

It’s hard to believe this contract and the Trouba deal will be the only things this front office does in the near future. Earlier this afternoon, the Post broke news that Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk is Drury’s top trade target. At face value, they really don’t have the assets to make that deal happen, and Ottawa should be in no rush to deal him out of town. Down the road, of course, the writing is on the wall considering what happened with his brother Matthew. Other names on the Broadway chopping block potentially include franchise legend Chris Kreider and maybe even aging star Mika Zibanejad. Either way, the clock is ticking on a group whose window is closing by the year. If this doesn’t pan out this season then it’s very possible that either Drury or head coach Peter Laviolette are the next to get kicked to the curb.

December 6th, 2024 will be a day that goes down into New York Rangers history for better worse. Something they can celebrate for now is that franchise goalie Igor Shesterkin is going nowhere.

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