Igor Shesterkin rejected eight-year, $88 million extension offer

The Rangers will have to pay a historic amount to keep their star goaltender off next year's unrestricted free agent market. Igor Shesterkin has turned down an eight-year, $88 million extension offer from the Blueshirts, ESPN's Kevin Weekes reports. The deal would have made him the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history.

Not only is Shesterkin the most prolific goaltender available in free agency next summer, he would also be the most prolific goaltender to achieve UFA status in the salary cap era. But there is a clear interest from the player to stay in New York. They have been in contract negotiations since at least August, although a report from Mollie Walker of the New York Post in June suggested that Shesterkin was likely seeking a price tag of $12 million per season on an eight-year extension.

If Shesterkin and agent Maxim Moliver have stuck with that number, there is still a $1 million gap to be closed between the Rangers and the 28-year-old. Walker wrote last month that Shesterkin would stop contract negotiations once the regular season began. So if there was no significant movement before New York opens its season tomorrow night in Pittsburgh, the Rangers' general manager said Chris Drury will have the entire 82-game schedule available to consider whether he's willing to spend the extra money to keep Shesterkin in Manhattan.

All indications so far suggest that the Rangers were and are willing to give Shesterkin the richest goaltending contract ever, one that eclipses him Carey PriceThe eight-year extension with the Canadiens costs $84 million. That obviously hasn't changed given their $88 million offer, but Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli's report last month that the Rangers were “unfazed” by Shesterkin's lack of willingness to negotiate during the season suggests they are had expected to be able to easily dissuade him from his offer to ask for $12 million AAV.

It is certainly a risk for Shesterkin to refuse the offer. With his performance this season, he now essentially determines his fate. A second nomination for Vezina in his career likely solidifies his ability to command more than $12 million per year on the open market, while giving him a still elite but more inconsistent performance than last year (.912 SV%, 2, 58 GAA, 14.2 GSAA) probably stays in the 11s.

While the markets for skaters and goaltenders are completely different, it's clear that Shesterkin wants to capitalize on an expected series of inflated contracts for franchise cornerstones after the Oilers spent over $14 million annually to retain her Leon Draisaitl with an eight-year extension, the richest contract since the 2012 lockout. The Bruins sign a restricted free agent netminder Jeremy Swayman Signing an eight-year, $66 million contract over the weekend likely helps Shesterkin's case, too. The Russian has better career regular-season and playoff numbers than his Eastern Conference counterpart and has started more than 50 games in each of the last three seasons – something Swayman has never accomplished.

In short, losing Shesterkin in the middle of the championship window is not an option for the Rangers, as the Rangers have been a much lower possession club than one would expect given their record at even strength in recent years. According to Evolving Hockey, Shesterkin has held goals above expectations 82.38 times over the last three years, second only to the Jets' lone star Connor Hellebuyck. He clocked 86.58 in that frame but still recorded 24 games played. There is an extremely strong argument that he is the best goaltender in the league, and there is nothing resembling a succession plan in the Rangers' succession planning.

With more clarity expected to emerge about next year's salary cap as the season progresses, Drury may be more willing to commit the money necessary to retain Shesterkin at the end of the season. However, a successful season for the Rangers leads to a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals, which would leave Drury and Shesterkin's camp with just a few days to negotiate a deal if they continue to be unwilling to negotiate while the game is underway.