Igor Shesterkin reportedly rejects highest goalie contract in NHL history

 

Not too long after Jeremy Swayman inked an eight-year deal with the Boston Bruins costing $8.25 million a year, there is talk of another big salary cap hit for an NHL goalie.

Igor Shesterkin has reportedly turned down an eight-year, $88 million contract offer from the New York Rangers, according to a report from ESPN's Kevin Weekes.
Right now, Sergei Bobrovsky is the NHL’s highest paid goaltender, and is entering year six of a contract that pays him $10 million yearly. Now, Shesterkin’s situation is unique for a couple of reasons. For starters, he has added leverage due to the fact that he’ll be entering free agency at 29 years old as one of few truly elite NHL goaltenders.
On top of that, the cap is expected to rise considerably over the next handful of years. From Shesterkin’s perspective, if Leon Draisaitl, one of the premier forwards in the league, got $14 million annually on an eight-year contract, shouldn’t his number be at least closer to that? Not to mention that Swayman, who has a smaller body of work as an elite NHL starter, got $8.25 million on his deal. You can see why Shesterkin’s camp would decline this deal, despite the initial sticker shock at first glance.

This author’s personal opinion? Despite being a “goalie guy”, it rarely seems like a good idea to sign goaltenders long term. The position is too volatile and ever-changing that committing a large chunk of salary cap to a goaltender long term seems to come with far more cons than pros. Swayman’s contract seems like a long term mistake, but the Bruins didn’t have many other options. My prediction? Swayman doesn’t finish that contract in Boston. By 34, he’ll be playing somewhere else. Is that a hot take? I’ll let you decide.

Now the Canucks twist on this. The Canucks are set to open the season with what most agree to be a slightly above average tandem of Arturs Silovs and Kevin Lankinen in goal, and it’s going to cost them under $2 million. When Thatcher Demko and his $5 million cap hit come back, you’re looking at an elite tandem for just under $6 million. That’s just incredible value in today’s NHL.

With all this talk and large money being tossed about, it helps to appreciate the pipeline the Canucks have developed for goaltending. How many other teams could make it to game seven of round two of the playoffs after losing both their starter and backup in round one? Not many, I would suppose.
Boston, for sure.

The 28-year-old Shesterkin is about to enter the last year of a four-year deal with a $5.66 million cap hit. On July 1st, he will be free to sign with any team. With an average annual value of $11 million, the Rangers' proposed deal would make Shesterkin the most paid goaltender in NHL history in terms of both total compensation and annual value.