Rangers, Igor Shesterkin hit a major snag in contract talks

The New York Rangers have a lot going on at the moment, just hours before the start of the 2024-25 campaign. With a final roster still undecided, an elephant in the room with contract negotiations going awry is just not what you want to see before game one against the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow night. 

Goaltender Igor Shesterkin has turned down an eight-year, $88 million deal to remain in New York. That makes the deal worth $11 million AAV, which is the highest in NHL history for a goalie. Absolute bananas. 

Where do we go from here? 

The main takeaway from this recent financial debacle is that the 2024-25 starting goalie for the Rangers will still be Igor Shesterkin. He will still be there to help bring this team back to the Stanley Cup playoffs and ultimately, winning the Stanley Cup. 

Seemingly, it looks like it is $12.5 million AAV or bust for this deal to happen. Some speculate that the problem isn’t the amount per season, but the length of the deal. This makes sense as this is seemingly the “last dance” with this core group. The possibility of another rebuild may be on the horizon depending on how the front office decides to allocate the funds at the end of this upcoming season. 

Why would Shesterkin, who helped accelerate this franchise out of its last rebuild, want to endure another one in the prime of his career? A lesser-length deal keeps him in his prime with a possibility of signing elsewhere, god forbid, the Rangers completely gut this team from the inside out again. 

In this Blue Line Station writer's opinion opinion, I believe a deal will get done once the season is over.

This denial from Shesterkin will not last forever, as the Rangers will pay him whatever he wants to remain their goalie. He is a generational talent, following the lineage of his predecessor before him, Henrik Lundqvist. The front office will not want this guy to walk away over a few million when he is worth every penny.