One thing is already settled for the Rangers as training camp unfolds: Igor Shesterkin is the anchor.
That much was clear Friday when Mike Sullivan made his feelings about his No. 1 goalie impossible to miss. The Rangers coach has plenty to sort through, but the net is not one of those headaches. In Sullivan’s eyes, Shesterkin is a difference-maker at a position that can tilt everything.
“I think it’s a luxury when you have a goaltender of such high caliber as guy like ‘Shesty,'” Sullivan said Friday. “I said this to you guys last year, I think he’s the best goaltender in the game.
He’s elite on so many levels. To have a player of that caliber at such an important position is comforting for a coach, I can tell you that.”
Sullivan repeated the point later, saying, “He’s a guy that’s shown through his body of work in the League how good he is, and how consistently good he is year-in and year-out,” Sullivan noted.
“I think he’s the best goaltender in the game, I really do.”
That confidence comes with a recent reminder of how fragile the whole setup can be. Last January, Shesterkin went down with a lower-body injury against the Utah Mammoth, the same night Adam Fox suffered his second longer-term injury of the season. Both players missed 13 games, and the Rangers lost 11 of them.
The season never really recovered from there. The Rangers’ playoff push unraveled, Chris Drury publicly said a retool was underway, and Artemi Panarin was later dealt to the Los Angeles Kings.
It also exposed just how thin the Rangers looked without Shesterkin. When he was unavailable, the crease became a problem instead of a strength, and that reality likely only sharpened Sullivan’s appreciation for what the 2021-22 Vezina Trophy winner brings every night he’s healthy.
Now the focus has shifted to making sure the support behind him is better. The Rangers believe they’ve improved that spot with 24-year-old Dylan Garand’s late-season rise and the addition of veteran Joonas Korpisalo. Their battle could end up being the most important one in camp.
Still, none of that changes the larger truth for New York. If the Rangers are going to get back to the postseason after missing out the past two years, they need Shesterkin on the ice and at his best.
Elsewhere around the Rangers, Shesterkin delivered a mix of funny quips and serious answers in his first media availability at training camp. Sean Avery also had plenty to say about his former team during a recent podcast appearance, including a pointed rant about why he never could root for Artemi Panarin. And prospect Felix Farhammar picked up his first USHL point, assisting on an overtime goal for Muskegon.
Around the NHL, Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Dan Kingerski examined what Evgeni Malkin said about whether he might play beyond this season or retire, and what could shape that decision by the end of the 2026-27 campaign. Sportsnet reported that Kirill Marchenko declined to revisit comments he made earlier this offseason about not re-signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets, saying, “I can only talk about hockey.”
NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti reported that Washington Capitals forward Pierre-Luc Dubois is healthy and looking for a bounce-back season after injuries limited him to 29 games last year. New Jersey Hockey Now’s James Nichols broke down how the Devils can cover for Nick Bjugstad’s 4-6 month injury absence and who might help on defense while Jonathan Kovacevic remains limited in camp after offseason surgery. And former Rangers first-round pick Brennan Othmann, who had been a restricted free agent, signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Calgary Flames.
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Shesterkin Just Added Real Weight To The Rangers Roster Overhaul
Igor Shesterkins opinion carries extra weight around the Rangers, especially after a season in which his own numbers remained strong even as the team struggled to keep pace. So when he talked about feeling good about the clubs recent defensive additions, it was another sign that the overhaul in front of him is being noticed by the most important player on the roster.
The Rangers have remade the blue line with Sean Durzi, Marcus Pettersson and Alberts mits joining the mix, and Shesterkin is already focused on getting the group back to the playoffs. Mike Sullivan has also been quick to back his goalie as the best at his position and trust him with a heavy workload, which only adds to the sense that New York is asking a lot of the player who may determine how far this reset can go. [Read more 🡒]