The Rangers had a busy Friday, trading Jacob Trouba, re-signing Igor Shesterkin, and then winning a big game against the Penguins. The Trouba trade was the big news of the moment, only to be overshadowed by the Shesterkin contract, coming in at a whopping 8 years with a cap hit of $11.5 million. The Rangers locked up their next generational talent in net, and Shesterkin received the biggest goaltender payday to date. As per usual, I have thoughts.

Shesterkin contract details

1. The Shesterkin contract is structured similarly to the Mika Zibanejad contract, with $85 million coming in signing bonuses and carrying a close to league minimum salary. That means the contract is essentially buyout proof, as the Rangers would not receive much cap relief if they went that route. The contract also comes with a full no-move clause, so no waivers, and no-trade clause, so no trades. Shesterkin is locked into New York for 8 more years.

2. The bad news is the above, it’s basically an unmoveable contract. But the good news is, as Tom Urtz pointed out, the cap ceiling is set to explode in the next five years. That means the actual impact on the cap, i.e. the cap percentage, goes down significantly over the duration of the contract.

Igor's extension is now official, and there are some who think that $11.5M was still too big a number. He's signing before the cap is expected to skyrocket, so here's a look at how his deal would age if cap only grows by 5% each year.

— Tom Urtz Jr. (@tomurtzjr.bsky.social) 2024-12-07T21:39:18.665Z

For those keeping score, the initial 12.43% of the cap is in line with Henrik Lundqvist’s deal over the life of his contract. Eventually Lundqvist’s contract finished around 10% of the cap ceiling, whereas the Shesterkin contract will eventually get to a shade under 9% of the ceiling, assuming the above cap raises at about 5%. It’s amazing how fast 5% adds up, isn’t it?

3. The Shesterkin contract is the largest contract in goaltending history, for now. Goaltending is such a difficult position to evaluate, so when elite goalies are re-signed, they reset the goalie market a bit, at least for the top talent. Shesterkin’s cap hit, at $11.5 million was what we guessed over the summer, though we would have preferred it to be shorter term. The Rangers needed to pay him, and Shesterkin wanted to stay. Sometimes, it’s as simple as that.

It’s been said the Shesterkin contract was lower than some anticipated, and he left money on the table by not going to free agency. That’s probably true, as teams like Chicago can fit multiple Shesterkin contracts, but Shesterkin wanted to stay on Broadway.

The Rangers needed to pay him

4. When the season started, I noted in a Patreon post that the Rangers needed to pay Shesterkin. Without re-hashing (subscribe here!), the way the Rangers have their contracts structured in this current window means they need an elite goaltender. They play too fast and loose defensively and don’t have the right personnel to really lock it down, thus Shesterkin will be called upon more often than other top tier NHL teams.

5. There were some calls to trade Shesterkin and blow up the roster, which were mildly hyperbolic in nature. The Rangers weren’t going to trade Shesterkin in their current window to win. They knew the Shesterkin contract was needed, and that the changes needed weren’t in net. By moving Trouba and hopefully eliminating a toxic situation–again caused by both Trouba and Chris Drury–the hope is the Blueshirts settle a bit and return to their winning ways.

6. This is still a top tier NHL team with far too much talent to be as bad as they were the last six weeks. Hopefully the Trouba trade and the Shesterkin contract, ironically on the same day, sends the appropriate message to the team. The goal is the Stanley Cup, and there was recognition that they needed a big change in the leadership group. The timing of the Shesterkin contract may have been coincidental, but by re-signing him on the same day, the Rangers also sent a message they will keep their elite talent and continue to construct a team that can win a Stanley Cup.

This also likely means other difficult decisions are coming.

7. The Shesterkin contract is a win, but a risky one at that. The last two years of that contract could be rough. But the good news is Shesterkin doesn’t have nearly the same miles on his body that Henrik Lundqvist did. Assuming his workload can be balanced with top tier backups, then the Shesterkin contract may not age poorly in those final few years. Age comes for us all, but fewer miles on the body delays it as long as possible.

8. The end of the Shesterkin contract may be rough, but the early years may prove to be a bargain. No one on the Rangers has as big of an impact on the ice as Shesterkin, and with Jonathan Quick playing the way he is, the Rangers don’t need to worry about goaltending. They will continue to be a top team in the NHL in net, giving some much needed peace of mind to the skaters. Hopefully this pays off.

Mentioned in this article:

More About: