Assessing The Rangers' Goaltending Situation

Let's not beat around the bush.

You want a candid appraisal of your team, not some booshwah that offers a ton of hope but only an ounce of reality.

Thus, as a public service, I. bring you a professional scout who has played the game, coached the game and has scouted the game.

I give you his unvarnished opinion with a WARNING – HE'S WORRIED ABOUT THE GOALTENDING, BUT NOT Igor Shesterkin as much as the pair vying for backup – Joonas Korpisalo and Dylan Garand. 

My honest-to-the-bone scout insists that between Garand and Korpisalo, they'll amass 30 games.

"That," says Honest Scout, "means Shesterkin gets a minimum of 54 games. And that tells me that Igor will lose more than half of those. And that is a legitimate concern at this point." Then a pause:

"Personally, I believe that Igor is in for 65 games – and I don't mean 'maybe' either!"

Which prompts a question for the Boss Chris Druty: Does he look for that  big-time backup goalie this season? AND if he does, what assets will have to be moved to get him?

"General managers generally have two possible answers: One: 'I don't want to trade picks because I want to use them. Or, Two: I'll trade picks because I won't be here long enough. to use them anyway.

"I can tell you from experience that the scouting staff gets ornery when picks get moved. On the other hand, coaches will mortgage the whole farm to get quality bodies since they couldn't care less about draft picks."

CAUTION: KEEP AN EYE ON THIS PARTICULAR SUBJECT AS THE SEASON UNFOLDS!

And since the question happens to be, can you pick a few of the best backup goalies of recent memory?

The Maven's birddog pal offers these: Glenn Healy Rollie Melanson, Steve Weeks and Ty Conklin, just to name a few.

As for Shesterkin's impact on the subject, bear in mind, the scout offers, two forms: "With eleven million bucks invested in Igor, that competition needs to be pretty high end and – if you're very lucky – fairly inexpensive.

"The reason I say that is because no one making that coin is playing behind anyone. And, finally, getting what Jonathan Quick should have been behind a healthy Igor last year, is exactly what you are looking for!"