Former New York Rangers believes the organization needs to secure this superstar long-term
Michael Del Zotto seems to feel strongly about the situation between the New York Rangers, and Igor Shesterkin.
He feels like the Rangers in all their power shouldn't let Shesterkin walk away, without a contract.
Del Zotto knows a good goalie when he sees one, as he played in front of Henrik Lundqvist during his years in New York.
As of July 1st, Shesterkin could've been extended, but the Rangers and Chris Drury have yet to make a contract offer. He is in the final year of his $22.667 Million dollar contract, with a $5.667 Million AAV.
It's known that Shesterkin wants to be made the highest-paid goalie in the NHL and could be part of the reason why they haven't hammered out a deal just yet. He's arguably been the Rangers' best player, despite starting slow.
His regular season record saw him post a 36-17-2, 2.58 GAA, and a .913 save percentage. He put up a legitimate fight against the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals, despite being outshot 34-24 in Game 6, 202-151 during the series, he kept them in the game. The Panthers even had a 468-27 shot advantage over the Rangers as well.
He kept the Rangers in the series, doing what a franchise goalie should, posting a 10-6 record in 16 playoff games with a 2.34 GAA and a .927 save percentage.
These stats give Shesterkin the kind of leverage he needs if he wants to be the highest paid goalie in the NHL above Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens at $10.5 Million AAV, followed by Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers at $10 Million AAV and Andrei Vasilevskyi at $9.5 Million AAV.
He's expected to ask around $11-$12 Million AAV, with the negotiations beginning at $10 Million AAV. Ideally though, the Rangers would like to start at $8.5 Million AAV.
But if he keeps consistent with his Vezina Trophy style numbers, the price tag continues to move upwards.
| POLL | ||
Do you think Igor Shesterkin is a better goalie than Henrik Lundqvist? | ||
| Yes | 32 | 39 % |
| No | 50 | 61 % |
| List of polls | ||
