The Rangers re-signed young netminder Igor Shesterkin to a 4-year contract paying him at an AAV of just short of $6M, at $5.65M. Shesterkin went 10-0-1 in his first 11 career starts. The young netminder has now taken a big living instep forward after backing up Henrik Lundqvist.
The organization drafted Shesterkin in the 4th round 118th overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Igor has already solidified himself as one of the league’s brightest goaltenders in the league and is only 25 years old. He has posted a career of 2.59GAA and a .921SV% in 47 career games. His numbers are very solid and next season will be his first season where he will have the starting role in an 82 game season.
Shesterkin has an outstanding glove and fights through traffic very well. He is also a breakaway specialist and reads the play very well. Igor moves smoothly with east to west passes and has an outstanding stretching ability. It’s very tough to beat him, but a guy who has his number is Sam Reinhart who has 8 points (4 goals and four assists) against Shesterkin.
There aren’t many holes in Shesterkin’s game, but one that stands out is on the powerplay as his career save percentage is at .928, but it drops significantly at .866 when the Rangers are down a man. It isn’t very rare for goalies’ save percentage to drop on the powerplay – Henrik Lundqvist had the same issue. On the powerplay, Henrik Lundqvist’s career save percentage was .927, but on the powerplay, it dropped to a .877. Also, in high danger shot attempts (Save%) Shesterkin ranks 9th in that category.
In conclusion, Shesterkin’s contract is a solid one and could pan out to be a solid deal at $5.65M per year. As well as, the Rangers can count on Shesterkin to steal many games in the future and dominate in big games against top opponents. The goaltending is very bright for the New York Rangers led by Igor Shesterkin.
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