It's starting to feel like the Rangers' goaltending situation is going to continue to be a talking point for the rest of the season. Since their starter, Igor Shesterkin, went down with an injury and will miss the rest of the season, the goaltending has felt quite uncertain. Before Shesterkin's injury, his back-up, Joonas Korpisalo, was also injured, leaving the Rangers to rely on Dylan Garand as their starter. Garand played three games last year with the Rangers, but aside from that, had no NHL experience under his belt when he took to the crease as the starter in October.
Garand has been a great catch for the Rangers. He's 6-6-1 across 13 games with a .960 save percentage and a 2.52 goals-against average. Korpisalo just went on conditioning stint in the AHL, but he may still be a few games away from his first start in the Rangers net this season. With Garand heading into his 13th consecutive start, the Rangers are going to need Korpisalo back sooner rather than later.
There have been a few potential trade options tossed around to help the Rangers find some help in the crease, but a new one has come to the forefront. Could the Rangers look to get in on Jusse Saros?
Does it make sense for the Rangers?
The rumour of a potential Saros trade came up on 32 Thoughts earlier this week, with Elliotte Friedman putting forward the idea that one of Nashville's goaltenders could be moved to a team in need of a goalie.
Elliotte Friedman: Someone...pointed out to me...Nashville has a couple of really good goalies...that teams that have 2 of them are gonna get calls; especially now that Connor Hellebuyck is off the board...if you have 2...goalies, you're gonna get calls - 32 Thoughts (11/2)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) November 3, 2026
Nashville has been finding success this season with Saros and Annunen in net. Annunen is a younger goaltender who hasn't had a starting role yet in his career, while Saros is a seasoned goaltender who has had the starting role in Nashville since Rinne's retirment. At 31 years old, he has veteran-level experience but not at the expense of age and agility. With Saros between the pipes, there would be a lot less uncertainty for the Rangers.
Saros' biggest flaw is his contract. He's in the second year of an eight year deal and makes $7.74 million a year. That type of contract isn't easy to move, and when Shesterkin is back, they'd be paying a lot of money for their goaltenders. From a money perspective, Annunen would be the better choice for the Rangers. But from a stability perspective, they'd likely lean towards Saros.
For the Predators, the only real reason to make a deal with the Rangers right now is if they can offload Saros' cap hit. Still, the Predators have a lot more available cap space than the Rangers do, so there's not that much incentive to move the veteran goaltender. The Predators are in a pretty good place right now, as well. They are getting pretty strong offense and the goaltending is working for them. Barring a great offer from the Rangers, it doesn't make a lot of sense for the Predators to part with Saros or Annunen.
If the Rangers' brass can make a deal that won't put them in cap trouble to bring Saros over, it's quite likely he'd be able to solve their goaltending problem. A shorter-term pickup with a smaller contract is probably a better look for New York.
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