Igor Shesterkin reportedly rejected offer that would've made him highest-paid goaltender in NHL history

The Rangers must pay a historic amount to keep their star netminder off next year’s unrestricted free-agent market. Igor Shesterkin has rejected an eight-year extension offer from the Blueshirts worth $88M, reports Kevin Weekes of ESPN. The deal would have made him the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history.

Not only is Shesterkin the highest-profile goaltender set to be available in free agency next summer, he would be the highest-profile goaltender to hit UFA status in the salary cap era. But there’s a clear interest from the player’s side to remain in New York. They’ve been in contract talks since at least August, although a report from the New York Post’s Mollie Walker in June indicated Shesterkin was likely looking for a $12M price tag per season on an eight-year extension.

If Shesterkin and agent Maxim Moliver have held to that figure, then there’s still a $1M gap to bridge between the Rangers and the 28-year-old. Walker wrote last month that Shesterkin would stop contract negotiations once the regular season started, so if there isn’t significant movement before New York opens its season in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night, Rangers general manager Chris Drury will have the entire 82-game schedule to ponder whether he’s willing to shell out the additional cash to keep Shesterkin in Manhattan.

All signs up to this point indicate the Rangers were and still are willing to give Shesterkin the richest goalie contract ever, eclipsing Carey Price’s eight-year, $84M extension with the Canadiens. That hasn’t changed considering their $88M offer, but Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff’s report last month that the Rangers were “unfazed” by Shesterkin’s unwillingness to negotiate during the season suggests they anticipated being able to get him to come down slightly from his $12M AAV ask.

It’s certainly a gamble on Shesterkin’s part to reject the offer. He now essentially controls his destiny with his performance this season. A second career Vezina nomination likely cements his ability to land north of $12M annually on the open market, while a still elite but more inconsistent showing like last year’s (.912 SV%, 2.58 GAA, 14.2 GSAA) likely keeps him in the 11s.

While the markets are completely different for skaters and goaltenders, it’s clear Shesterkin is looking to capitalize on an expected run of inflated contracts for franchise cornerstones after the Oilers forked over $14M annually to keep Leon Draisaitl on an eight-year extension, the richest contract since the 2012 lockout. The Bruins signing restricted free agent netminder Jeremy Swayman to an eight-year, $66M deal over the weekend also helps Shesterkin’s case. The Russian has superior career regular-season and playoff numbers to his Eastern Conference counterpart and has started 50-plus games in the last three seasons – something Swayman’s never done.

Simply put, losing Shesterkin in the middle of their championship contention window is not an option for the Rangers, who have been a much more pedestrian possession club at even strength than you’d expect, given their record over the past few years. Shesterkin has saved 82.38 goals above expected over the past three years, per Evolving Hockey, second to only Jets star Connor Hellebuyck. He stopped 86.58 in that frame but logged 24 more games played. There’s an extremely strong argument that he’s the league’s best goaltender, and nothing resembles a succession plan in the Rangers’ prospect pipeline.

With more clarity on next year’s salary cap likely to come as the season progresses, Drury may be more willing to allocate the money needed to keep Shesterkin when the season wraps up. However, a successful season for the Rangers results in a Stanley Cup Final appearance, leaving only a few days for Drury and Shesterkin’s camp to work out a deal if he remains unwilling to negotiate while game action is ongoing.