New York Rangers Sign Igor Shesterkin to Record Breaking Contract
The New York Rangers have been trying to lock up Igor Shesterkin for some time, and after months of trying, the two have struck a historic deal.
Through the first 5+ years of his career, Igor Shesterkin has established himself as one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, and given the rising salary cap in the league, it was only a matter of time until someone topped Carey Price's historic contract.
After reports over the summer that Shesterkin had turned down a massive deal in New York, fans were put on extension watch on Thursday, signalling that a new contract was on the way.
The biggest hint came from NHL Insider Kevin Weekes, who suggested that an $11.5 million AAV deal was coming, a number which would top Price's $10.5 million annual value that he is still being paid despite being done with the league.
Now, that has been confirmed, as the Rangers have locked Shesterkin down to an 8 year, $11.5 million deal, keeping him in net at Madison Square Garden for potentially the rest of his career as he looks to help this team to the Stanley Cup Finals.
At just 28-years of age, Shesterkin has put some incredible campaigns together, playing in 222 NHL games to this point while posting a 2.42 GAA and a .922 save percentage, all the while picking up a ridiculous record of 141-61-18.
After making the Eastern Conference Finals in two of the last three seasons, the Rangers are on the cusp of history, and now they've got their goaltender locked down alongside massive deals for Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox and Alexis Lafreniere, keeping their window open for quite some time.
It's unclear how well this contract will age, but given how NHL contracts continue to rise, it could just be the start of mega deals such as this, and looking back on his career thus far, there's no one more worthy than Shesterkin.
| POLL | ||
Does Igor Shesterkin deserve to be the highest paid goaltender in NHL history? | ||
| Yes | 73 | 26.5 % |
| No | 202 | 73.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
