1/7/21 | 1:18PM: Arthur Staple writes at The Athletic that the Rangers were “very close” to trading Georgiev before Igor Shesterkin was injured.
12PM: On the 1/7 32 Thoughts Podcast, Jeff Marek asked Elliotte Freidman about Alex Georgiev and Friedman said ‘here is the reason I wouldn’t do that if I was the Rangers: Thursday night. If you are the Rangers, you are having a really good year, you have a chance for something and we are all trying to figure out how good the Rangers really are, but what is Bill Parcells old line, ‘you are what your results say you are.’ Right now their results say they are pretty good. If I’m the Rangers, Thursday night in Vegas, Shesterkin goes on the Covid list and now you have Georgiev there and I know Georgiev has made it clear before, ‘I’ll move if I can get more of a chance to play,’ but I think this is a case where if you are the Rangers, you say ‘look until we have a better alternative than you if Shesterkin is not in the lineup….,’ I’m not trading him unless you absolutely blow my socks off.”
Larry Brooks tweeted last night the Rangers can’t afford to trade Georgiev now.
1/6/21 | 12:45 PM: In his 12/7 NY Post newsletter, Larry Brooks wrote that Alex Georgiev has reportedly been looking to move from the Rangers since he was passed over to start in the 2002 bubble.
Brooks wrote that there had been “lukewarm” interest in Georgiev (NY Post)
In his 12/28 NY Post newsletter, Brooks wrote that Georgiev’s recent play “should have rehabilitated his value to a substantial degree on the trade market, either approaching the March 1 deadline or over the summer.”
On the 11/26 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek were talking about the Buffalo Sabres’ goalie situation and Alex Georgiev’s name came up.
Friedman said “the total wildcard to me is a guy like Georgiev from the Rangers because his name has kind of been out there before, but the thing is, I’m looking at it with the Rangers and you’re a playoff team right now. Are you really in a position where you want to do that? (32 Thoughts)
Friedman said on the 12/13 edition of the Jeff Marek Show “watching Georgiev right now and the way he’s played, this has been a huge opportunity for him, I’m really curious to see what is going to happen with Georgiev out of this, especially when Shesterkin comes back.”
On Wednesday, Nick Kypreos was speaking about the Oilers goaltending issues and said “before the break, I teased a name that I think the Oilers could trade for by the weekend…..Georgiev. He’s out there, they are talking about him, there is no way the Rangers are keeping him, comes in at $2.5 million the rest of the year, he wants to be a number one goaltender, he’s not happy in New York, he won’t cost you a lot. Just do it Kenny Holland.”
Asked what it would cost to get Georgiev, Kypreos said “I don’t think it would be much more than a third-rounder” and when the topic of how Edmonton would move out the salary of Mikko Koskinen, Kypreos added “the Rangers don’t get in trouble with their salary cap until the offseason, next year when Fox kicks in, Zibanejad kicks in, Kakko needs a new contract. You could actually maybe even convince the Rangers to eat some of that salary up, sneak him in for not much more…it depends on how greedy the Rangers want to get, but I think, I’d be hard-pressed to give up a second, but with how desperate I am with the Oilers, I’d try to get away with a third-rounder for him.”
Kypreos added that there was interest in Georgiev “earlier” from Arizona and Buffalo.
Frank Seravalli lists Georgiev at #5 on his trade target list and says “it’s more important than ever to have two trustworthy ‘tenders, but Georgiev seems to be an unnecessary luxury in New York at a time when other teams are dying for help in goal.” (Daily Faceoff)
Adam Rotter: I don’t think the Rangers are moving Georgiev until the offseason unless they get an offer they can’t turn down and a more than adequate replacement for him. Why would the Rangers mess with their goaltending The Rangers have a good thing going right now with their goaltending and Georgiev proved himself as someone the Rangers can rely on if Igor Shesterkin gets hurt again. Why would they mess with that and re-open the question about goaltending that Georgiev has answered the past few weeks?
Everyone looks at it from the Edmonton point of view because they need a goalie, but the Rangers need someone to play when Shesterkin needs a break or gets hurt again. I don’t think they view Keith Kinkaid as that player. I also think that the Rangers were willing to take a third-round pick for Georgiev then he would have been moved by now.
Come the offseason, yea, I definitely see Georgiev playing someone else next year, but for the here and now the Rangers need Georgiev. I could be wrong and maybe Chris Drury is actively looking to move Georgiev and replace him with a veteran like Jaro Halak, but I’m not sure why the Rangers would mess with the good thing they have going right now.