For the fans of the New York Rangers who have watched Igor Shesterkin stand on his head for a lifeless squad and felt he wasn't paid enough for his efforts... you are going to really like this story. The Rangers' franchise netminder made headlines when he signed an eight-year deal to pay him $12.5 million a season, and his contract is in the news again.
NHL CBA gives some players a pay raise
The NHL and NHLPA agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding back in September of 2025 which extended the exisiting CBA with some new changes. One such change impacted the schedule of minimum salary for players, and that means that existing deals that included league minimum salaries will be receiving a bump.
For the last three seasons the minimum base salary was $775,000, and that is going up for the next four seasons. This season the minimum is $850,000, it goes up to $900,000 for 2027-28, $950,000 in 2028-29, and $1,000,000 for 2029-30 and beyond.
Per Puck Pedia, "If a player's base salary falls below the new minimum in any contract year, it is raised to the minimum, even if a signing bonus brings their total salary above the minimum. This increases the player's cap hit, AAV, and total salary. For players on one-way contracts, their minors salary is also increased."
Shesterkin's increase second largest in the league
Shesterkin's existing deal was structured in such a way that he's mostly paid in signing bonuses, and that's why he ended up being a big winner here. His total contract value has increased by $475,000 as part of this change, second only to William Karlsson of the Vegas Golden Knights.
Because of the increase in his base salary, Shesterkin's cap hit has increased by $67,857. It's not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, but an interesting quirk. After the season Shesterkin had, it's hard to argue that he didn't deserve to be paid a little more.
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