The New York Rangers are set to make goaltender Igor Shesterkin the highest-paid player at his position in NHL history. The Rangers and Shesterkin have agreed to an eight-year contract extension worth an average of $11.5 million per year, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes and Emily Kaplan report.
With that annual salary, Shesterkin will pass left winger (and leading scorer) Artemio Panarin as the Rangers’ highest-paid player. Panarin is making $11.6 million per season as part of the seven-year, $81.5 million contract he agreed to in 2019.
Carey Price was previously the highest-paid goaltender in league history with an average annual salary of $10.5 million as part of the eight-year, $84 million contract he signed with the Montreal Canadiens in 2018.
Shesterkin, 28, is in his sixth season with the Rangers and in the final year of a four-year contract that pays him $5.66 million a year. He and the team have been in talks since the start of the season, trying to negotiate a new contract before Shesterkin becomes a free agent.
He was a team pick in the fourth round (118th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft by SKA St. Petersburg in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League.
You’ve got to be kidding me Shesterkin.
Change direction after moving to the right. Section. Catching the puck directly behind the goal line.
Unbelievable pic.twitter.com/L0BBFfcTSd
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) December 28, 2022
This season, Shesterkin is 8-9-1 in 18 games with a 3.05 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. He compiled a career record of 143-68-18 with a 2.48 GAA and a .920 save percentage.
Shesterkin had his best season during the 2021-22 season, finishing with a 36-13-4 record and leading the NHL with a 2.07 GAA and .935 save percentage. He won the Vezina Trophy for the league’s best goaltender.
The Rangers are currently fourth in the Metropolitan Division with a 13-10-1 record and 27 points. In the Eastern Conference, they are in eighth place by percentage points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers and one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
New York just traded defenseman and team captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks. Clearing Troub’s $8 million salary from the payroll may have helped seal the deal with Shesterkin.