9/27/24: Elliotte Friedman said on 32 Thoughts, “I believe that one of the reasons they’ve told Trouba that this is it is because they have some big extensions to do. Shesterkin, I think they are going to sign him, I do. To me, everything that has come out this week is about the Rangers saying there is no need to panic, we are signing this player. We are making him the highest paid goalie in the NHL, we recognize his importance to us, we know he is the backbone of this team and we are signing this player.”
Friedman added that the one thing that the Rangers have that no other team has is the ability to offer him an eighth year.
9/26/24: Darren Dreger said on the Ray and Dregs Podcast that the Rangers know Shesterkin’s next cap hit is going to be “north of $11 million dollars, $11.25, $11.5, maybe $12.”
9/24/24: 10PM: Larry Brooks writes that Shesterkin may also be looking to eclipse Artemi Panarin’s cap hit of $11.6 million as the highest in Rangers history. (NY Post)
6:10PM: Pierre LeBrun said that Shesterkin’s agents are looking to “reset the goalie market” and that “the Rangers have let Shesterkin’s camp know they are willing to pay him more than the $10.5 million that Carey Price made. The Rangers are willing to go north of $10.5 million and yet this still isn’t done.”
12:13PM: The Athletic reported on Monday that the Rangers and Igor Shesterkin are “not remotely close” on a contract extension and that if no deal is signed by Opening Night on 10/9 than contract talks would be postponed until after the season.
The NY Post reported that Shesterkin’s target for a cap hit has been $12 million.
Frank Seravalli tweeted on Tuesday that talks are “ongoing” and that the Rangers aren’t “too fazed” at the reported deadline of getting a deal done by Opening Night. He adds that Shesterkin is the Rangers “priority.”
Elliotte Friedman said last Friday on 32 Thoughts that he expected Shesterkin to sign a “big, big deal” to stay with the Rangers.
Adam Rotter: Unless something crazy happens, Igor Shesterkin is going to be the Rangers goalie for a long, long time and get paid a lot of money to do so. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal that he hasn’t signed yet. It would certainly have been nice to get this done already and remove any questions, but it’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of whether it’s 6, 7, 8 years and whether the cap hit starts with a 10, 11 or 12. The Rangers obviously want the cap hit to be as low as possible and Shesterkin seems intent on breaking Carey Price’s record cap hit of $10.5 million. But he deserves it and ultimately he will get some record setting number. He’s their best and most important player and the main reason they have been two games away from the Stanley Cup Final twice in the past three years. A contract that large will force the Rangers into making some other decisions about their roster in the coming years, but it’s hard to see them being able to find a cheaper goalie who is not only that good, but one who truly gives you a feeling every night that you can and are going to win.