Calvin Pickard's fate will be known later on today, as the Edmonton Oilers placed the veteran netminder on waivers over the weekend. Even though the Olympic break is coming up and the New York Rangers just have one game left before the break, claiming Pickard off waivers would be a perfect short term move by President and General Manager Chris Drury.
The Rangers need to settle things down in net
At this point it is truly in the Rangers' best interest to continue losing hockey games and do everything necessary to end up with a better draft pick at the upcoming draft. But the team is full of professionals, and they aren't going to intentionally tank. Look no further than Saturday's 6-5 loss in which the team scored multiple times late in the third period.
#NYR captain J.T. Miller: "You score five goals and lose the game. I guess the only positive today is that we didn't quit, kept pushing, came down to the wire. When you have to score six times, it's pretty hard to win the game. I like that we didn't quit. That's about it."
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) February 1, 2026
Goaltending has been an issue since Igor Shesterkin went down with an injury, and they need to change things up. It feels like Dylan Garand would have been up already if the Rangers were going to give him a shot, and with that being the case they should grab Pickard and make him the starter for the immediate future. Spencer Martin started this season in the KHL, and it is clear he's not an NHL goaltender. This year he's gone 1-3-0 in six appearances, and he's posted a 4.13 goals against average and an .863 save percentage. Lifetime he's 25-33-0 with a 3.60 goals against average and an .881 save percentage, and those figures aren't NHL material
Jonathan Quick needs a break
Quick had a disastrous January, and ended the month with a 1-7-1 record while also posting a 4.56 goals against average and a .827 save percentage. The Blueshirts' 40 year old backup netminder looks tired, and he's truly given it his all. But with Martin not being much better, the Rangers have continued to play Quick more than they probably should. Although Pickard is having a rough season, he's much better positioned to start multiple games in a row if needed.
What Pickard brings to the table
Pickard turns 34 in April, and he's your classic journeyman NHL backup goalie. He's appeared in 191 games across 11 seasons, and has a record of 74-77-14 with a 2.96 goals against average and a .901 save percentage. He's appeared in 16 games this season, and has a 5-6-0 record with a 3.68 goals against average and a .871 percentage.
While you may look at that and think it's not good enough to make a claim, he went 22-10-1 with a 2.71 goals against average and a .900 save percentage during the 2024-25 season, and 12-7-1 with a 2.45 goals against average and a .909 save percentage the year before that.
Pickard is also the right age to be a proper third goalie that can compete for a backup job, and be assigned to Hartford as a form of insurance. The team previously had that with Louis Domingue, and he arguably was a worse goalie than Pickard is. Pickard carries a cap hit of $1 million, so adding him to the roster would be pretty simple.
It is unknown when Shesterkin will be back, and given that Quick's future in the league and in New York is very much up in the air, it would be smart to use what has become a lost season as an extended tryout for a potential backup to Shesterkin going forward. Garand is someone who the Rangers will try and give that job, but for now it makes sense to try and identify an established NHL level talent.