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Igor Shesterkin's Vezina quest depends entirely on the Rangers new core

With the old core scattered across the NHL and a young roster taking over Broadway, we look at whether Igor Shesterkin can return to his 2021-22 Vezina form without the high-powered support system he used to have.
ByJustin Bonhard|
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Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin (31) guards the net against the Washington Capitals during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images
Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin (31) guards the net against the Washington Capitals during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Rangers are going to look a lot different in 2026-27 season, thanks to a very busy offseason from President and General Manager Chris Drury. They grabbed a solid goal-scorer in Pavel Dorofeyev, retained Braden Schneider for a one-year deal to establish his future, and added a goaltending battle behind Igor Shesterkin.

Speaking of Shesterkin, the last two seasons were some of the worst years of his career, but they were also better than a good chunk of the NHL. He did not receive any love from the NHL General Managers voting committee in 2025-26, but that could change in 2026-27 and beyond.

Can Shesterkin return to the form that won him the NHL's best goaltender award in 2021-22?

Re-tooling team is going to hinder him

The Rangers completely flipped the script on their franchise since announcing the second rendition of "The Letter" back in January. The old core group is in different places now.

Artemi Panarin is in Los Angeles, Vincent Trocheck is in Utah, and K'Andre Miller just won a Stanley Cup in Carolina. Now, it is just the remnants of Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, and Adam Fox, surrounded by the next era of Blueshirts hockey: the prospects.

Not a bad record last season, just no support

Shesterkin had a record of 25-19-6 last season, with a goals-against-average of 2.50 and a save percentage of .912. If the Rangers' offense was able to pot a few more goals, that record would have looked a lot better than it does, and who knows, this franchise might be in a different place right now.

With the arrival of Dorofeyev, who scored 72 goals over the last 164 games he had played with the Vegas Golden Knights, that should no longer be an issue. Likewise, with the drafting of Alberts Smits, the addition of Sean Durzi, and Marcus Pettersson, the potential upgrades on the blueline could help swing things in Shesterkin's favor.

This is Shesterkin's team, but the goaltending battle behind him between Dylan Garand and Joonas Korpisalo could be some added motivation for No. 31 to return to MVP form. If the franchise goaltender cannot keep up with consecutive solid performances, there might be a change coming from head coach Mike Sullivan.

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