Though no one quite knows where contract negotiations stand between the New York Rangers and Igor Shesterkin, one NHL Insider did say this week that team and player are on the same page about a lucrative long-term deal.
Shesterkin is in the final year of his current contract and can be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. Reportedly, he is seeking to be the highest-paid goalie in NHL history, which would mean surpassing Carey Price’s average annual value of $10.5 million.
“You’ve got to imagine that Shesterkin is going to be, based on his performance, the highest-paid goaltender at the end of the day once [Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman] gets his deal, and they use other comps like [Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy] and so on,” Pagnotta explained. “But I think he’s waiting to see where that where that goes, how that plays out before they get too hard into a negotiation, but maybe they are now.”
Vasilevskiy is in the fifth season of an eight-year, $78 million contract that pays him $9.5 million annually. The 30-year-old led the Lightning to consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021 and won the Vezina Trophy as top NHL goalie in 2019.
Swayman is a restricted free agent who remains unsigned ahead of Bruins training camp. It’s been reported he’s seeking $8.5 million per season on a long-term deal, though this will be his first season as Boston’s No. 1 goalie after splitting the duties with Linus Ullmark, who was traded to the Ottawa Senators this offseason.
Shesterkin is more accomplished than Swayman, including winning the Vezina Trophy in 2021-22 and leading the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final two of the past three seasons. However, unlike Vasilevskiy, he’s yet to win the Stanley Cup.
But it appears Shesterkin will wait to see what type of big raise Swayman gets before working on finalizing his own massive deal with the Rangers.
Rangers, Igor Shesterkin ‘keeping it quiet’ when it comes to contract extension
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Shesterkin and the Rangers have each been mum about contract negotiations. Pagnotta admitted that he has no idea where exactly talks stand at the moment, with training camp a week away.
“I know they had discussions at the start of the offseason and very loose just obviously, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page, and we want to work towards a long-term extension, which they do,” Pagnotta said.
But what’s happening now?
“Again, this could be another scenario where they’re doing a really good job and just keeping it quiet,” Pagnotta explained. “And the Rangers love to do that with [general manager Chris Drury] and everybody there. But I didn’t get a sense that there was going to be a concern with respect to trying to get him locked into an extension once they get to that serious state. Obviously, the goal is to lock it in, and both sides want to make it happen.”
Shesterkin is in New York and been taking part in informal practices before camp starts. At breakup day last June, he claimed to not speak English when asked about his upcoming contract situation.
Locking up their star goalie is priority No. 1 for the Rangers. They’re already tight against the salary cap , but likely will go to great lengths to sign Shesterkin, preferably before the season begins.
Next summer, the Rangers will also have major contract decisions to make about UFA defenseman Ryan Lindgren and restricted free agents Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller.
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