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New York Rangers on The Hockey News
Stunning Appraisals of Shesterkin and Zibanejad That Will Knock You For A Loop
By Stan Fischler,
2 days ago
Now that oft-underrated defenseman Ryan Lindgren has willingly signed a one-year $4.5 million deal it's time we took a different, precise look at who on the Rangers really is valuable and who's not.
In this case the actual dollar figure these skating cartels are getting is considered in a somewhat off-the-cap way.
To assist me in this noble endeavor I leaned on the man who has written more Rangers books in a shorter time than anyone on earth – the estimable historian-author-disturber Sean McCaffrey.
This Long Island zealot launched his book career with "The Rangers Rink Of Honor And The Rafters Of Madison Square Garden." The Maven considers it a must for any Blueshirt fan who enjoys history.
When I contacted McCaffrey, the idea I had in mind was to pick one most valuable player on the current roster but with a twist. He agrees and puts it thusly: "While most people worry about figures such as $8.5 million and even up to $13 million, for me it's not the millions that matter most," McCaffrey explains. "What I'm most interested in is Cap Percentage."
And since everybody and his Aunt Hattie is wondering what Igor Shesterkin should walk away with in his next pot of gold, I wondered how Sir Sean feels about it. The necessarily mixed answer includes a powerful NO.
While Iggy has been the team's MVP on the ice, that does not make him most valuable if his agent demands the world in the next negotiation.
"If Czar Igor wants more than ten percent of the team's payroll," McCaffrey insists, "then it's time for Chris Drury to make the tough decision. That means finding a successor to Number 31."
Stan Fischler US Hall Of Fame MSG (3:13)
Yikes!
That's rasher than rash and likely will floor 50 percent of The Maven's audience, but Mac is neither hot nor bothered by the reaction. After all – superior as he may be – Shesty is not the only solid goalie between here and the Planet Pluto.
McCaffrey: "Considering how well (former backups) Cam Talbot, Antti Raanta and Alexandar Georgiev played for the Rangers as understudies for Henrik Lundqvist, I'm confident that the Rangers will be fine should they part ways with Shesterkin."
The facts are with Pal Sean. Talbot, Raanta and Georigiev have all become wealthy puck-blockers as starters in other precincts.
But when it comes to present MVP's, McCaffrey side steps Shesterkin and lifts the banner that says PANARIN as the genuine regular season MVP.
"I consider Breadman 'The Mike Gartner' of today's crop," defends McCaffrey. "He's got excellent regular season numbers but not much to write about when the games truly matter.
"Czar Igor comes in second. He's had some up-and-down campaigns since he won the Vezina. But when it's time to shine in the playoffs, then he's been a beacon of light."
As for the Least Valuable Ranger (LVR), McCaffrey has a surprise here as well – Mika Zibanejad.
Yikes! Again.
"I'm not kidding," Big Mac asserts. "I mean $8.5 million for a center who can't score goals and goes timid in the playoffs.
"Now he's hoping that his 24th right winger since 2021 is the 'missing ingredient. He isn't even the best center on his team. Vincent Trocheck is."
In closing – full disclosure – McCaffrey and I agree that Matt Rempe is the eighth most valuable Ranger. (Yes, you read it correctly: eighth.)
The Maven predicts that by Christmas, the skating giraffe will be among the top six regulars. Or as Sir Sean puts it: "How many Rangers have their surname belted out by the Garden Faithful on a game-in and game-out basis?
"And who sold more merchandise and received more social media reviews of his play other than Rempe ever since his mid-February debut?"
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