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Igor Shesterkin\u2019s injury on Friday night didn\u2019t look promising at first glance, and the testing has revealed a worst-case scenario. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The team relayed to reporters, including Peter Baugh of The Athletic, that the star netminder\u2019s 2026-27 season has come to an end. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Additionally, they noted that backup goaltender Joonas Korpisalo will miss another four weeks with his lower-body injury while center Joe Veleno will miss three to three-and-a-half months with his lower-body injury.<\/p>\n
Shesterkin\u2019s injury is a massive blow to a Rangers squad that had gotten off to a solid start to the season. \u00a0The 30-year-old is consistently viewed as one of the elite netminders in the NHL and is being paid as such; his $11,567,857 cap hit is a league record for goalies. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
His campaign comes to an end with a 1.79 GAA and a .927 SV% in five games, while also scoring his first career goal. \u00a0For his career, Shesterkin has a 2.51 GAA and a .917 SV% in 330 games, helping him earn his current deal. \u00a0Simply put, players of his caliber are hard to replace.<\/p>\n
Given that they\u2019re already very tight to the upper limit, the Rangers will be moving into LTIR in the near future. \u00a0Because this is a season-ending injury for Shesterkin, they will have close to his full salary cap charge available to spend. \u00a0Teams that put players without a season-ending designation are capped at the lower of the players\u2019 cap hit or just over $3.9M, representing last year\u2019s average salary. \u00a0That will give GM Chris Drury some spending flexibility to work with. \u00a0That said, given that Shesterkin\u2019s contract runs through 2032-33 and that Korpisalo has another year on the books as well, it\u2019s fair to surmise that he will only be looking for goalies on expiring contracts to try to stabilize things.<\/p>\n
To that end, there are a handful of veterans who have started before that are in the final year of their respective contracts. \u00a0If Detroit decides to pivot to a short-term rebuild given their situation, John Gibson could be a fit. \u00a0Jordan Binnington is now the second-string option in St. Louis but has been a capable starter in the past. \u00a0Darcy Kuemper is off to a rough start in Los Angeles and doesn\u2019t appear likely to be re-signed so he could be a potential target as well. \u00a0If they want to aim for a cheaper option to acquire in terms of assets, inconsistent veterans like Philipp Grubauer (Seattle) and Sam Montembeault (Montreal) could fit the bill. \u00a0In terms of veteran free-agent options, James Reimer is probably the best one available but he didn\u2019t take part in training camp anywhere, meaning he would need some sort of conditioning stint to get up to speed, at a minimum.<\/p>\n
In the short term, Dylan Garand, who cleared waivers in training camp, will be the starter for the Rangers for the next four weeks at a minimum, barring another goalie being brought in. \u00a0While AHL veteran Spencer Martin was unable to play last night due to a lower-body injury, Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic notes that he has been cleared to return, paving the way for him to be recalled. \u00a0Martin has a handful of NHL games under his belt if he\u2019s called on in a pinch but it\u2019s fair to say that Drury will be calling around about assessing his options soon, if he hasn\u2019t already started.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Meanwhile, Mollie Walker of the New York Post relays that the Rangers will make a pair of roster moves for LTIR optimization purposes. \u00a0Cole Beaudoin will be sent to AHL Hartford with Juuso Parssinen coming up in the short term. \u00a0Beaudoin will play for the Wolf Pack tonight, making him eligible to be brought back to New York on Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n