The New York Rangers were dealt a huge blow to their season incredibly early, with goalie Igor Shesterkin suffering a right knee injury that will keep him sidelined for the rest of the campaign. At the time the injury was announced, there were debates regarding whether or not the Rangers will make a trade for another goalie. Thus far, the team's plans are to run things forward with Dylan Garand and Joonas Korpisalo (once he returns from a lower body injury).
When discussing trades, the goalie who was brought up the most was Connor Hellebuyck. This offseason, Hellebuyck, who is coming off of a gold medal win for Team USA in this year's Winter Olympics, expressed his desire to be traded off of the Winnipeg Jets. So, with Shesterkin out for the season, there were questions whether the Rangers would explore a deal for Hellebuyck, especially if they are making a push for a playoff spot and the Stanley Cup.
As it turns out, the Rangers did make an exploratory call for Hellebuyck. However, don't expect the Rangers to make that trade fans.
Rangers reportedly kicked tires on Connor Hellebuyck trade, but don't expect it to happen
TSN insider Darren Dreger reported on Tuesday that Rangers general manager Chris Drury made calls around the league regarding a possible Shesterkin replacement. One of the teams he reached out were the Jets about Hellebuyck. However, Dreger reports that the Rangers "do not have a sense of urgency" and that they "flat-out don’t wanna pay the hefty price" for Hellebuyck.
Even before Hellebuyck made his trade request public, it was the worst-kept secret in hockey that there was a chance he wanted out of Winnipeg. The Jets, understandably, want a lot in return for Hellebuyck, as he is one of the top goalies in the game. At the time of this year's NHL Draft, the Jets were reportedly in trade talks with the Buffalo Sabres centered around Hellebuyck, but the two could not come to an agreement over the swapping of first-round draft picks.
Simply put, trading for Hellebuyck is going to cost a lot. The Jets want high draft capital, and would probably want a goalie in return. The Rangers don't exactly have those assets, as they gave up three first-round picks this offseason, and just recently replenished their prospect pool this offseason, which they desperately needed to do. Plus, Hellebuyck is under contract through the 2030-31 season. It doesn't make sense for the Rangers to take on that contract, especially with Shesterkin undoubtedly set to return next season.
Rangers are better off moving forward with Dylan Garand
For now, the Rangers are going to move forward with Garand and Korpisalo. Garand has gotten all of the starts since Shesterkin's injury, and played well. In the Rangers' 6-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks this past Sunday, Garand stopped 19-of-21 shots on net. In their 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, Garand stopped 25-of-26 shots on goal.
Through five games this season, Garand has a 3-1-0 record, a 1.15 goals allowed average, and a .951 save percentage. Garand has't just stepped up, he's playing incredible hockey for the Rangers. He has shown that he's deserving of getting the bulk of starts moving forward.
As for Korpisalo, the Rangers will want to see what he can bring for the team once he returns from his injury. Let's not forget that Drury gave up assets to acquire Korpisalo from the Boston Bruins this offseason. So, they'll want to give him a chance before making calls around the league regarding a goalie trade.
Don't expect a deal for a goalie just yet for the Rangers But if things reach that point, definitely don't expect Hellebuyck to be an option for them.
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