This past season, the New Rangers saw just how bad things can get if Igor Shesterkin is sidelined for an extended period of time. Jonathan Quick struggled while earning the majority of the starts. Rookie Dylan Garand received some opportunities late in the season, and looked promising. With Quick retiring at the end of the season, the Rangers fanbase believed that Garand would be the primary backup.
But then, at the start of the new league year, the Rangers traded Kalle Vaisanen and a 2028 fourth-round pick to the Boston Bruins for Joonas Korpisalo. With that, it's likely that Garand will have to compete with Korpisalo for the primary backup job. Considering the Rangers traded assets for Korpisalo, Garand may be on the outside looking in. The Rangers are putting themselves in an uncomfortable situation, as if they want to send Garand back to the AHL, they'd have to place him on waivers. It's entirely likely that if the Rangers attempt to do this, Garand could get claimed by another team.
If that scenario were to happen, do the Rangers have the goaltending in the prospect pipeline to potentially replace Garand down the line?
Rangers would be making a mistake risking themselves of losing Dylan Garand
First up, let's talk about the backup goalie situation. The Rangers have always found a way to bring in a goalie who can more than exceed expectations a a backup goalie. The likes of Quick, Anttii Raanta, and Martin Biron all stand out as goalies who thrived in the backup role.
With Quick retiring, Rangers general manager Chris Drury obviously wanted to bring in a veteran option. He decided that Korpisalo was the right goalie for the team, and gave up assets to do so. While Drury and head coach Mike Sullivan may have conviction with Korpisalo, he was not the goalie worth giving up a player and a draft pick for.
Korpisalo is coming off of a lackluster 2025-26 campaign, where he posted a 14-9-6 record, a .894 save percentage, and a 3.15 goals allowed average in 31 games (28 starts). In fact, Koorpisalo has not posted a save percentage over .900 since the 2022-23 season while splitting time between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings. That's not exactly great to see for Rangers fans.
Meanwhile Garand shined while earning three starts late in the past season. In those three appearances, Garand put up a 1.62 goals allowed average, a .948 save percentage, and a 2-0-1 record. Yes, it's a limited sample size for Garand, but those numbers are great for a rookie earning his first shot in the pros.
Bringing in Korpisalo and potentially giving him the backup job, while risking losing Garand to waivers is not a great move for the Rangers. Why give up on a young goalie who showed real promise? If that is the decision the Rangers decide upon, is there anyone in the farm system that could replace Garand?
The Athletic lists goalie Danai Shaiikov in top Rangers prospect rankings
The Athletic's Corey Pronman recently released multiple articles highlighting the top prospects in each NHL franchise. For the Rangers, it's unsurprising that their top three prospects are defenseman Alberts Smits, center Cole Beaudoin, and winger Liam Greentree. There was one goalie to make the top 14 rankings, and that was Danai Shaiikov, their third-round pick this year.
"Shaiikov was up and down last season in the Q, but there’s NHL talent in his quickness and athleticism," writes Pronman. "He can make NHL-caliber saves. He’s a little inconsistent, and at his size I’d prefer his sense to be excellent instead of just good, but he has a chance to make it."
Given that Shaiikov was just drafted by the team, Rangers fans shouldn't expect him to debut anytime soon. But, the fact that Shaiikov made it in Pronman's top prospects lists means Rangers fans should at least keep an eye on his progress in the amateurs and in the AHL when he eventually makes it to Hartford.
After spending time playing in Russia, Shaiikov made the move to the QMJHL in Canada to play for the Gatineau Olympiques. In 50 regular season games, Shaiikov posted a 2.78 goals allowed average, a .903 save percentage, and an 18-26-2 record. In the playoffs, Shaiikov put up a 2.86 goals allowed average, a .897 save percentage, and a 3-3-1 record in seven games.
Shaiikov is only 19 years old, so there is still plenty of time for him to develop his game and log some playing time to really improve in the near future. It certainly helps that he will likely work with Quick, who is the Rangers' new director of goaltending development.
Besides Shaiikov, the only other goalies in the Rangers' minor league system are Spencer Martin and Callum Tung. Martin is who he is, and that's a veteran, journeyman goalie, who currently plays for Hartford. As for Tung, he was an undrafted signing by the Rangers last year after a promising one season stint with UConn. But this past season with Hartford, Tung recorded a 3.94 goals allowed average, a .855 save percentage, and a 7-8-2 record in 16 games.
So, the Rangers would be in a bind if they were to let Garand go. There is no immediate, young option the Rangers and the fanbase can look forward to in the near future. The Rangers picking Korpisalo over Garand could really set the Rangers back in terms of the goaltending pipeline.
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