New York Rangers: Alexandar Georgiev and the future
By David Bruce
The New York Rangers’ biggest strength now and in the future is their goaltending. With this season winding down, let’s explore the recent breakout player, Alexandar Georgiev’s, future.
It’s no secret that the New York Rangers have always been a strong team in regards to goaltending. Backup goalies like Martin Biron, Cam Talbot, Antti Raanta, and of course, franchise starter Henrik Lundqvist, have helped shape the Rangers success over the past decade. This year, the Rangers had ex-Jet Ondrej Pavelec backing up Henrik.
While Pavelec did an adequate job of filling the role of backup goalie, a new competitor joined the Rangers. Undrafted free agent signing Alexandar Georgiev, coming out of Finland’s Sm-Liiga, played most of the season as the Hartford Wolfpack’s starter. He then earned a call up when Pavelec went down with an injury.
Since his call up, he has effectively replaced Pavelec as a considerably steadier backup goalie. The 22 year old Russian currently had a 4-3-1 record with a 2.85 GAA and a stellar .926 save percentage prior to Monday night’s game. In nine games, he has made 301 saves, averaging 33.4 saves per game.
At this point, there isn’t much use starting Pavelec at this point. Georgiev has done a splendid job as a Ranger and will more than likely be the Rangers backup goalie next season. However, with Georgiev’s skill level coming into fruition, what does his Rangers future hold?
The crux of the issue with Georgiev is whether his skill set and consistency have been proven enough to be a starter. In spite of how good he has been, he has only started nine games. That is way too small of a sample to determine whether or not he will be a viable starter that can play 55-60 games a year.
Backup, or Starter?
So, if Georgiev proves to be consistent enough as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup next season, he could provide value as a starter. The biggest problem: Igor Shestyorkin becomes available to the Rangers the following summer. That may create a logjam in the goaltending department; not a bad problem to have, but a problem nonetheless.
Shestyorkin brings a ton of hype, and much of it is deserved. He has been one of the KHL’s brightest stars, bringing back memories of Lundqvist’s early days with Frolunda. He is being hailed as the Rangers future franchise goalie, the heir to Lundqvist’s throne.
If Shestyorkin decides to make the jump, and Georgiev proves to be a true starter, it may be of value to the Rangers to trade him. What may be difficult is determining Georgiev’s trade value after such a short career. He may bring slightly less, trade value as Sergei Bobrovsky did when he was moved from Philadelphia to Columbus. Bobrovsky had a similar career, being an undrafted goalie as well.
If Georgiev is simply a career backup, his career may go similarly to someone like Peter Budaj. This would be extremely valuable to the Rangers going forward. Knowing they have a homegrown backup for Shestyorkin at this phase is stellar for the Rangers’ future. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt for Shestyorkin to have a fellow countryman as his goaltending counterpart.
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Right now, it is much to soon to determine Georgiev’s future, or his potential trade value. All we can do right now is enjoy the ride he is taking the Rangers on. Ondrej Pavelec will likely move on, and Georgiev will be the Rangers backup in 2018-19. Where that takes us, and him…we will soon find out.