On the night of October 9-10, Moscow time, the semi-finalist of the last Stanley Cup, the New York Rangers, will begin the regular season of the new season of the National Hockey League. Peter Laviolette’s team will play a road game against the Pittsburgh Penguins before returning to New York for a short two-game home series.
According to a long-standing North American tradition, before the start of the first home game, a solemn team presentation ceremony is held, attended by each player of the main team in turn. In recent years, some of the longest ovations have gone to the home crowd’s favorite Russian goalkeeper, Igor Shesterkin. But what will happen now?
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A day before the start of the Rangers’ season, the 28-year-old goalkeeper made his value drop in the eyes of many fans of the American team. All this is due to information from renowned expert and knowledgeable Kevin Weeks, who reported that the Russian goalkeeper rejected the offer of a new contract from the Blue Shirts. Rangers general manager Chris Drury offered the Russian an eight-year contract worth a total of $88 million. If Igor accepted these conditions, he would officially become the most expensive goaltender in the history of world hockey.
Currently, the highest-paid goaltender in the NHL is Carey Price with a salary of $10.5 million per year. It should be noted that the Canadian goalkeeper actually retired in 2022, but his agreement with the Montreal Canadiens will be valid for two more seasons. In second place is Russian Sergei Bobrovsky, whose salary cap hit under his contract with the Florida Panthers is $10 million.
Shesterkin’s current deal with the Rangers with a cap hit of $5.67 million per year expires at the end of the 2024/2025 season. The new contract would take effect starting next season and would not only make Igor the highest-paid goaltender in the NHL, but would also elevate him to second place in terms of salary cap hit among all Russian players in the league. Ironically, first here is his teammate Artemi Panarin, who receives an average of $11.643 million a year from the Rangers.
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At the moment, it is not known with certainty what exactly the Russian goalkeeper is up to. Shesterkin himself was repeatedly asked during the offseason about the progress of negotiations with the American club, but Igor was as skillful in avoiding direct answers as he was excellent in his direct work. In mid-June, one of the journalists asked Shesterkin about a possible extension of the agreement with the team. “Sorry, I don’t speak English,” the Russian responded.
Igor Shesterkin
Photo: Luke Hales/Getty Images
There are now two main versions of the events taking place. According to one of them, Igor hopes to become not only the highest-paid goalkeeper in the history of the NHL, but also the most expensive Russian. In this regard, it was reported that the requests of the agent of hockey player Max Moliver start between 12 and 12.5 million dollars and after rejecting 11 million dollars, that information no longer seems fantastic.
But there is another quite plausible version according to which the Russian goalkeeper is not satisfied with the multi-year agreement. Getting $88 million guaranteed is tempting, but what will happen to the team in a few years? Almost the entire core of the team is made up of players aged 30 or older. No one knows how many more seasons Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Vincent Trocheck and the list continue to be competitive at the NHL level. Second or third season: the blueshirts risk falling into a new perestroika, and then what can catch Shestyorkin if he never wins the Stanley Cup?
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“I confirm the information about Igor Shesterkin and his rejection of the Rangers offer. I was recently told that Igor might be more interested in a short-term deal, maybe five years. If the Rangers want an eight-year contract, they will have to spend a lot of money,” DailyFaceoff journalist Cam Robinson wrote on his social media account.
“I don’t have confirmed figures, but I was recently told that both parties are very far apart and that a pre-season agreement is unlikely to be reached. I also heard that the possibility of renegotiations during the season should not be ruled out, but Igor seems willing to bet on himself and wait.
Obviously, the threat of Igor becoming an unrestricted free agent and hitting the open market is terrifying for the Rangers and their fans. There is also some risk for Igor (injury, bad year, etc.), but if he performs well, this will be the best way to maximize his value and get the deal he wants,” explains club expert Vince Mercogliano.
Igor Shesterkin
Photo: Joel Auerbach/Getty Images
If the contract is not signed in the very near future, which now seems like the most obvious scenario, then next offseason Igor will enter the unrestricted free agent market. On the one hand, you really run a big risk. Hockey not only makes you younger, but it is also a very traumatic sport in which no one is immune from injury.
And a bad season can put brakes on their wheels. In turn, now, after refusing to sign the contract, Shesterkin will simply be tremendously motivated to avoid this worst season. After all, your future is at stake. So, in theory, turning down the contract could even serve the American club well this season.
If we talk about the mood of the fans, many of whom were very offended by the Russian, as can be seen on American social networks, then it seems quite naive. Hockey is first and foremost a business. German forward Leon Draisaitl did not follow the example of the Edmonton Oilers management and squeezed every penny out of them, signing an eight-year contract worth $112 million this summer, American goalkeeper Jeremy Swayman almost missed the start of this season, negotiating with. Boston for a “regrettable” increase of 250 thousand dollars, compared to the previous offer from the “bears.”
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And Panarin, like Zibanejad, like Fox, like Jacob Trouba, did not skimp on himself, receiving money on the market, signing his current contracts with the American club. So why should the key Rangers player, on whose play the success of the entire team depends 100%, put the club’s interests above personal ones? If within a year the blue shirts do not accept their conditions, others will pay. There will certainly be no end to those interested, given the evident crisis in the global goalkeeper market.
