The Rangers have a big decision to make regarding Igor Shesterkin's contract extension.
1. Until he actually signs a new contract with the Rangers, debates about Igor Shesterkin's worth – for both time and dollars – will continue until the cows come home.
2. But before the Toronto Maple Leafs win The Stanley Cup.
3. My Vice President In Charge of Dopey Deals and Bookkeeping, Alan Greenberg, says that Iggy "has the Rangers by the short hairs. They need him."
4. To that, The Maven shoots back – but at what price? There were times last season when The Reliable Russian was Mister Totally Unreliable. Some of his games reminded me of the aroma I sniffed when I drove past the Staten Island Landfill.
5. Then again, it's not my dough and the Rangers are the richest team in the league. I'll let them worry about it.
6. Still, I'd rather believe the man who has a Phd in Dopey Deals, Big Al Greenberg. He offers this thoughtful thought with Shesterkin in mind: "Long term megabucks contracts based on a good season or two never age well!"
7. The guessing already has started when it comes to what Chris Drury can get for Kappo Kakko. (No wisecracks, please about accepting two hockey nets and a Sam Rosen recording of 'IT'S A POWER PLAY GOAL!)
8. Speaking of Pal Sam, reader Mark Linde of Westchester remembers meeting the recent inductee into the New York State Hockey Hall of Fame in the strangest of places, the dentist's chair.
9. "The one and only time I met Sam was at the dentist's office," Linde recalls, "when he was lying on his back. And even there – with the dentist's drill at the ready – he was gracious and engaging."
10. Getting back to Kakko, Drury doesn't figure to get much for a guy who has recorded 20-plus points only twice in his five-season career. (Or nine points in 44 career playoff games.)
11. What Double K has going for him is the fact that he was a second overall pick in 2019 and he's still young enough to find his better game; assuming such a thing exists.
12. The insightful Glenn (Chico) Resch on the Rangers: "I thought, maybe, they'd win The Cup last spring. But now I see the window closing fast." Then, a pause: "Age!"