Adam Proteau says Igor Shesterkin's eight-year, $92-million contract with the New York Rangers shouldn't hamstring their efforts to retain talent and add more down the line.
Igor ShesterkinAt first glance, the contract extension signed by New York Rangers star goaltender Igor Shesterkin looks and sounds like a ton of money.
To be sure, it really is – an eight-year, $92-million deal with an annual average value of $11.5 million. And that came after what Shesterkin described as a hard negotiation with a lot of noise that was tough to take.
But when you step back and look at Shesterkin’s new deal in the bigger picture, it’s not nearly so much money that it hamstrings the Rangers’ ability to retain current talent and add new talent.
For one thing, you have to see the trading of former Blueshirts captain Jacob Trouba as a money dump designed to free up cap space when Shesterkin’s new pact begins next season. Trouba’s $8-million cap hit is now gone, and that money can go directly toward funding Year 1 of Shesterkin’s new contract.
Other factors will also make Shesterkin’s deal more palatable for Rangers management.
The NHL’s salary cap ceiling is expected to rise notably in the next few years. If the cap ceiling goes up to between $95 million and $97 million, suddenly, Shesterkin’s extension doesn’t look nearly so bad.
In the short term, some of the Rangers’ money has to go to pending RFAs K’Andre Miller and potentially Kaapo Kakko, as well as pending UFAs Ryan Lindgren and Jonathan Quick. But the money saved by trading Trouba gives Drury enough cap flexibility to retain just about everyone he wants to retain.
Of course, if the Rangers continue to struggle and miss the Stanley Cup playoffs – something nobody dreamed would happen with this Blueshirts team this season – then suddenly most, if not all, bets are off. But we recognize the commitments the Rangers have made to their veterans as a sign there isn’t going to be widespread change to the Blueshirts’ core.
Back to Shesterkin: it’s a victory for Drury to lock up arguably the world’s best goaltender for as long as the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement allows.
You might have wanted Shesterkin to sign with even more of a hometown discount, but to be fair to Shesterkin, it very well could look like a discount by the time this new contract extension is over. In the past five seasons, Shesterkin has the best save percentage (.919) and goals-against average (2.47) among goalies with at least 200 games played. That includes his 2.99 GAA and .908 SP in 19 games this year.
Shesterkin will be the Rangers’ backbone until further notice, and that’s the most important thing. But Drury’s moves this season point to a good deal of cap flexibility down the line, and that should serve the Rangers well as they navigate their way through the retention of other key players and the acquisition of new faces down the road.
The Shesterkin extension is great work by Drury, and the Blueshirts will be able to carry a core that should keep them in playoff contention for many years to come.
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