Igor Shesterkin’s place in NHL goalie rankings stirs debate among Rangers fans

Thursday evening saw the NHL Network release its list of the top 10 active goaltenders in the league, placing New York Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin at No. 3

Connor Hellebuyck headlined the list at No. 1, with Tampa Bay Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy coming in at No. 2 — with these two being the only players listed above Shesterkin. Sergei Bobrovsky followed at No. 4 and Jake Oettinger then rounded out the top five. Ilya Sorokin, Jordan Binnington Filip Gustavsson, Darcy Kuemper and Linus Ullmark were the last five listed.

Shesterkin coming in at No. 3 on the list is a drop, as he was listed at No. 1 only one year prior.

This was after Shesterkin, a Russian native, signed an eight-year, $92 million contract with the New York Rangers back in December. It has an average annual value of $11.5 million.

“Well, clearly with the contract we just signed him to, it speaks volumes of what I think of him as a goalie, as a player, as a person,” President and General Manager Chris Drury said at the time. “We’re lucky to have him. We’re excited that he wanted to make the commitment to be with the Rangers for eight years. We’re excited to be able to sign him up for that. We had no interest in seeing where the market went come July 1. As a lot of our players say, and certainly I can echo their sentiments, he’s one of our best players night in and night out and we’re thrilled he’s our goalie."

Shesterkin has been one of the best goalies in the NHL in the modern era.

No. 31 has helped the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Final twice: in 2022 and the year before last, when they lost in six games to the Florida Panthers after winning the Presidents' Trophy for the best record in the regular season (55-23-4, 114 points).

Additionally, Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL in 2021-22, when he also finished third in the voting for the Hart Trophy, which is awarded to the league's most valuable player.

Fans react to Shesterkin snub

For the Blueshirts Shesterkin finished the 2024-25 season with six shutouts and 27 wins — featuring a 2.86 goals against average.

Needless to say, Rangers fans were not happy with his ranking at No. 3 by the NHL network.

"This is some bullshit," one fan said on X.

"The only goalie I’d put ahead of him [Igor] is Helly. No way Vasy is better at this stage," said another.

"Igor is better than Vasi right now.
Just a FYI," another fan said on social media.

"Are the people being surveyed blind by any chance," asked another.

Regardless, the Rangers will enter the 2025-26 season with Shesterkin in their net, boasted by backup goaltender Jonathan Quick who is also coming off a historic season.