Igor Shesterkin Signs Record-Breaking 8 Year/$92M Contract Extension with Rangers
The New York Rangers have locked down their franchise goaltender Igor Shesterkin with a record-breaking eight-year, $11.5 million per year extension, securing one of the NHL’s elite netminders to continue their quest for the Stanley Cup.
The New York Rangers have secured star goaltender Igor Shesterkin for the long haul, signing him to a record-breaking eight-year, $92 million contract extension, worth $11.5 million per season. This makes Shesterkin the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history, and caps off a wild day which also saw Rangers' captain Jacob Trouba traded to the Anaheim Ducks.
The contract extension was first announced on X by ESPN's Emily Kaplan:
As if today wasn’t crazy enough… sources told me @KevinWeekes & me that Igor Shesterkin has agreed to a contract extension with the NYR.
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) December 6, 2024
8 years, between $11.5-12 million AAV.
The AAV of $11.5M has since been confirmed by the New York Post's Mollie Walker.
The previous record for largest contract for an NHL goaltender was held by the Montreal Canadians' Carey Price, who inked a eight-year deal worth $10.5 million per year in 2018. Price has been on long term injured reserve since 2022 with knee issues.
Shesterkin, a Vezina Trophy winner in 2021-2022 season, has been a cornerstone for the Rangers since he took over the starting role. Although he has struggled in the Rangers' recent stretch that has seen them lose six of their last seven games, the 29-year-old has been one of the league's most reliable and elite goaltenders, having guided the Rangers to Eastern Conference Final twice in the past three seasons.
With the NHL's salary cap expected to rise to at least $92.5 million in the offseason, that would put Shesterkin's new deal at 12.4% of the team's salary cap space. This makes Shesterkin's cap hit percentage similar to the cap hit take up by Henrik Lundqvist's 2008 $6.88 million/year (12.1%) and his 2014 $8.5 million/year (12.3%) deals.
If the salary cap rises to $97 million, as Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman recently suggested was possible, that would put Shesterkin's cap hit percentage at 11.86%.
