Don’t look now, but New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin‘s impervious streak of dominance has not only stamped himself as a clear-cut Vezina Trophy favorite, but has also forced a reasonable argument for Hart Trophy consideration.
The New York Rangers’ 26-year-old goaltender has yet to complete a full, standard NHL season as the No. 1 and already at the midpoint of his first doing so, he’s one of the league’s most potent talents.
Now, some may think this claim comes off a tad grandiose, but Shesterkin is leaving zero room for doubt in every start. He sports an 19-4-2 record with a 2.07 GAA (second among starting goaltenders) and a .936 SV% (first among starting goaltenders). He’s pulled out five victories with 35+ saves this season, two of which were shutouts (a category he ranks tied for third in) and another two tallied up into the 40+ range.
The only case against Shesterkin—at least at this point—is volume. He’s appeared in 25 of the Rangers 42 games, absent twice this season—one time to injury and the other to COVID-19. Therefore, he doesn’t own full claim to the Rangers’ current position in first place in the Metropolitan Division standing. His counterpart, Alexandar Georgiev, has appeared in 18 games and has posted a 7-6 record in games Shesterkin was either absent or on rest for.
While Georgiev’s progressively improved play has helped support the Rangers in adverse lineup situations, Shesterkin is still the most credible player behind this staggering campaign. With that being said, come the regular season’s end, the Rangers final placement in the standings (married with Shesterkin’s final numbers, of course) will bear all weight on the notion of Shesterkin being the league’s most valuable player.
A goaltender has won the Hart eight times in league history—the last being Carey Price in 2014-15. Price obtained the hardware for a 44-16-6 record, a .933 SV% and a 1.96 GAA in 66 appearances. The Canadiens finished with a 50-22-10 record (second in the league). So Shesterkin still has his work cut out for him, but those figures are certainly not out of reach.
It could all be too premature, as the year’s most electrifying forwards (which is looking like Alex Ovechkin at the moment) always have the advantage at winning the award. But to take this Rangers team—one that is fresh out of rebuild, one that is among the youngest in the league, and one that hasn’t made the playoffs in four years—and steal wins to propel them to the elite echelon makes a pretty exigent statement.
Obviously there are other pieces to the fine-tuned machine Gerard Gallant has running right now. Chris Kreider is cruising to a career season while scoring goals in dangerous areas right and left. Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox are once again making cases for the league’s best forward and defenseman, respectively. Lest we forget the young talent, the rough n’ rowdy boys, and Mika Zibanejad all thriving.
A successful season is almost always anchored by good goaltending—and this is great goaltending; goaltending that is giving the Rangers a more-than-fair chance to win every hockey game. And isn’t that what the most valuable player does?