Shesterkin’s Floor, Rangers’ Ceiling Is an Issue in Contract Talks

Elliotte Friedman said during his most recent 32 Thoughts Podcast that there’s a snag in negotiations between the New York Rangers and goaltender Igor Shesterkin.

Friedman reports that Igor Shesterkin’s representatives believe the star goalie is the best player on the New York Rangers and should be compensated accordingly. However, the team’s highest-paid player, Artemi Panarin, earns $11.64 million per season. According to Friedman, Shesterkin is seeking a salary higher than Panarin’s. The Rangers are currently unwilling to meet that demand.

Friedman admitted this was only a theory. However, he believes he’s in the right ballpark on what’s going on between the two sides. He also said that he couldn’t confirm Kevin Weeke’s report of an eight-year, $11 million offer from the Rangers. That said, he believes it’s true. He also thinks Shesterkin got that offer late and turned it down.

Friedman added that the Rangers will likely get to Shesterkin’s number, but the issue is the jump between what Carey Price made as the highest-paid goalie in the NHL and what Shesterkin wants is an issue. The Rangers fear how they’ll look agreeing to jump Shesterkin’s salary as much as $1.5 million from the highest-paid goalie in history. Typically, players only jump $100,000 to $600,000 as the numbers climb and are based on a percentage of the salary cap. The Rangers stand to look like the foolish team that gave Shesterkin an unreasonable raise.

Shesterkin Has the Rangers in a Tricky Spot

However, Friedman suggests Shesterkin has the Rangers in a tough spot because they play a style that only works with Shesterkin in goal. A 31-save shutout to open the season shows that the team would have to completely change their way of playing if another goalie is there instead of Shesterkin.

It’s not clear when this situation will be resolved, Friedman thinks the Rangers will ultimately cave, but the fact that Shesterkin has a floor of Panarin’s contract and the Rangers have a ceiling of the same, it’s hard to know how long these negotiations could drag out. It’s also not clear if Shesterkin really has closed off all negotiations now that the season has begun.

Next: Conspiracy Theories Swirl Around Oilers and Lavoie Waiver Saga