The New York Rangers were dealt the gut punch of all gut punches after a strong start to their season. Superstar goalie Igor Shesterkin suffered a right knee injury in last Friday's game against the Washington Capitals, and is officially out for the remainder of the season. As Rangers fans learned from last season, losing Shesterkin does hurt their chances of contending. However, it seems as though the Rangers are better equipped to deal with a Shesterkin injury.
Dylan Garand, who shined in three starts late last season, was the next goalie up, as backup Joonas Korpisalo is out for the next few weeks due to an injury of his own. On Sunday, Garand showed that he was more than capable of dealing with the massive responsibility of replacing Shesterkin. In a 6-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks, Garand stopped 19-of-21 shots on net.
Of course, after the Shesterkin injury, the talk instantly went to the trade market, to see which goalie the Rangers could bring in. For now, it's best that the Rangers kick the proverbial can down the road, and instead let Garand show what he can do for the team and to see if he can carry the workload for the season and push them into a playoff spot.
Rangers need to give Dylan Garand an extended trial period to see if he can be the full-time replacement for Igor Shesterkin
The Rangers are only six games into the season and there is still plenty of time for them to decide whether or not they need to attack the trade market for a goalie, whether a starter or a backup. Hitting the panic button this early, while they're winning, isn't the best idea right now.
Even before his first start post-Shesterkin injury, Garand played well in net. In the Rangers' 2-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings, Garand stopped all 22 shots faced. Even while entering in relief of Shesterkin against the Capitals, Garand stopped 11-of-12 shots on goal. On the year, Garand has a 2-1-0 record, a 1.20 goals allowed average, and .945 save percentage.
Even last season, Garand played well through three starts, recording a 1.62 goals allowed average and a .948 save percentage.
The strong play made it that much more confusing why the Rangers tried to sneak Garand through waivers to send him back to the AHL to start the season. Given that there were some teams in need of a goaltender, it felt as though Garand was as good as gone. Luckily for the Rangers, Garand went unclaimed. Imagine if they had lost Garand to another team and lost Shesterkin for the season? They'd been in huge trouble.
A trade for a goalie doesn't make much sense this early in the Rangers' season
The Rangers have more than 70 games left in the season, leaving them plenty of time to determine whether or not making a deal for a goalie is worthwhile.
Let's not forget that the Rangers did give up a decent amount of premium draft capital this past offseason to improve their roster, such as two first-round picks for winger Pavel Dorofeyev and a 2030 conditional first-round pick for defenseman Marcus Pettersson. Besides that, they don't have fourth round picks in either of the next two years. So if the Rangers are in a position where they desperately need a goalie, it's hard to envision the opposing team not raising their asking price. So, it may very well have to cost a first round pick or a second round pick (which the Rangers own each of the next four years).
Besides that, the Rangers still have to see whether or not Korpisalo is a viable option for them. The Rangers gave up a 2028 fourth-round pick and forward prospect Kalle Vaisanen to the Boston Bruins for Korpisalo. Last season was a rough one for Korpisalo, as he posted a .894 save percentage, a 3.15 goals allowed average, and a 14-9-6 record. It's evident that the Rangers wanted a veteran option behind Shesterkin, hence the trade. Despite that, the Rangers obviously liked what they saw from Korpisalo to not only trade for him, but to also give him the primary backup role after the preseason. The thing is, he never played a game yet due to his lower body injury. So one has to imagine the Rangers want to give him a crack at some starts to see if he is a worthy option.
If Garand or Korpisalo ultimately don't pan out, then the Rangers should explore external options in net. For now, it's best if the Rangers give both goalies, especially Garand, an extended evaluation period to see if they are viable options for the remainder of the season.
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