The Hellebuyck Decision: What the Rangers Passed On

The Rangers had one chance this fall to turn a lost goalie into a five-year advantage, and Chris Drury let a division rival take it.

Igor Shesterkin injured his right knee in Washington on Oct. 9 and is out for the season. He was 3-1 with a 1.79 goals-against average. Two weeks later, the New Jersey Devils traded for Connor Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina winner and former Hart Trophy MVP. The Rangers had asked about him and walked away.

Since then, rookie Dylan Garand has carried the crease, at one point 12 games in a row. The Rangers are 10-7-1, have lost three straight, and gave up 18 goals in that stretch. The Devils are 13-5.

What happened

The Rangers made one call, and only a half-hearted one. Hellebuyck had asked Winnipeg for a trade in the spring, and a deal with Buffalo fell apart around the June draft. He went public in the summer, didn’t report to camp, and the Jets suspended him without pay.

When Shesterkin went down, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported the Rangers had asked about Hellebuyck. They had no sense of urgency and did not want to pay the Jets’ price. A three-way idea, Hellebuyck to Utah and Karel Vejmelka to New York, went nowhere.

On Oct. 23 the Devils got him. Winnipeg took back forwards Dawson Mercer and Nick Bjugstad, prospect Alexander Command, backup goalie Nico Daws, a 2029 second-round pick and a 2027 seventh. That is far less than the price Drury reportedly turned down. As the standoff dragged on, the price fell, and the Rangers were not at the table when it did.

The case against: two goalies, two long contracts

The Rangers’ answer was arithmetic. Hellebuyck is 33 and signed through 2030-31 at $8.5 million a year. Shesterkin is signed through 2032-33 at about $11.57 million.

Shesterkin’s long-term injury status frees cap room this season only. Next fall, the Rangers would carry about $20 million in two starting goalies, under a cap of roughly $104 million. Most observers, including Elliotte Friedman, called it a poor fit, and The Hockey News said Drury would not want that headache next summer.

All of that is true, but it only holds if Shesterkin comes back healthy and stays that way.

The case for: insurance, not redundancy

The cap argument assumes a healthy Shesterkin next October, and his record doesn’t support that. This is his third lower-body injury in three seasons: a month missed in 2024-25, injured reserve in January 2026, and now a season-ending knee.

The Rangers have not said what the injury is. But knee surgery that ends a season in October points to a ligament, most likely the ACL. ACL recovery runs nine to 12 months, and goaltending is built on explosive side-to-side pushes. A 31-year-old goalie coming back from that could miss next fall or return below his best.

Seen that way, Hellebuyck was a hedge, and every outcome was good for the Rangers:

• Shesterkin returns healthy. The Rangers have the best tandem in hockey for a season, then trade one from strength. Elite goalies always have a market.
• Shesterkin returns diminished or late. The most important position is already covered by a three-time Vezina winner.
• This season. A proven starter stops the slide now, instead of a rookie on his 13th straight start.