Way-Too-Early Free-Agent Destinations for Rangers Goalie Igor Shesterkin

New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin is entering the final year of his contract, and the big story to emerge this week was news that if a new deal is not signed before the start of the 2024-25 regular season all negotiations will be put on hold during the season.

The most likely outcome? The Rangers re-sign their most important player to a massive, long-term contract that makes him one of the highest-paid players at the position (and probably in the league). He is their cornerstone player and foundational to everything they do. They have to keep him.

Until a new contract is signed, however, there is going to be that lingering thought of "what happens if he does not sign before the season?" If he gets to the open market, there will be no shortage of teams knocking each other down in the hopes of signing one of the league's most impactful players.

So with that in mind, let's take a way-too-early look at some potential free-agent destinations for Shesterkin should it reach that point.

The most logical, and quite honestly, the most likely destination has to be the first option.

Everything the Rangers do, the way they play, the way the roster is constructed is based on having an elite, franchise goalie. It has been that way for the Rangers for almost two decades now going back to the Henrik Lundqvist era, and nothing has really changed here.

They have to pay him and keep him, and they have a pretty big advantage over the other 31 teams in the league—they already have him on their roster and the opportunity to sign him right now.

Him staying with the Rangers is where the smart money is.

The Flyers' decades-long search for a franchise goalie rolls on. By next season, they should be at a stage in their rebuild where they are looking to compete for a playoff spot and seriously contend.

What better way to do that than signing a franchise goalie that could finally—FINALLY!—secure the position?

As an added bonus, signing Shesterkin would significantly weaken a division rival and Eastern Conference contender.

The Flyers have some intriguing young goaltending prospects, but nobody can project young goaltending with any certainty. If you have a chance to add one of the few consistently proven goalies in the NHL, it's an easy call...or at least it should be.

The only thing holding the Red Wings back at this stage of their rebuild is the ability to prevent goals. That's, admittedly, a pretty huge problem; one caused by bad defensive zone play and consistently sub-par goaltending.

When it comes to the defense, there is at least some hope on the horizon with Moritz Seider locked in on a long-term deal and top prospect Simon Edvinsson ready to take on a bigger, full-time role starting this season.

But they still need goaltending.

Over the past three seasons, their cumulative save percentage of .891 is 27th in the NHL, and the only goalie they have signed beyond this season is Cam Talbot.

The Red Wings will almost certainly be in the market for a goalie this offseason no matter what.

If Shesterkin goes to the open market, they should be one of the first teams calling, especially if they miss the playoffs again and get even more desperate to get to the postseason.

The Kings have reached the point where they are a very good team, but they're still a step below the top contenders in the NHL, especially as it relates to the Edmonton Oilers team that has eliminated them three years in a row in the first round.

There is a lot to like about the Kings' roster, both offensively and defensively, but goaltending has been one of their few obvious weaknesses. They are rolling the dice on Darcy Kuemper this season, but he was mostly acquired via trade as a means to dump Pierre-Luc Dubois' contract on the Washington Capitals. He may not be a serious, viable, long-term answer.

The Kings have been rumored to have had interest in some top-tier goalies in recent years at the trade deadline (e.g. Juuse Saros, Linus Ullmark), so it would seem logical to believe they would have interest in arguably the best goalie in the league should he become available.

Kuemper's remaining contract ($5 million for the next three seasons) would complicate things, but there are always ways to move contracts like that if needed.

We could probably think of the Blackhawks here as a "mystery" team of sorts. That one surprise team that always lurks in free agency.

The Blackhawks would be an intriguing option for a couple of reasons.

For one, they have a need for a goalie.

They also have few long-term commitments on their roster and should have the type of salary-cap flexibility that could put them in a position to swing for the fences on a free agent.

There is also going to be a push to start winning—and winning big—now that they have their next cornerstone player in place with Connor Bedard. Adding a goalie like Shesterkin could rapidly accelerate that rebuild and the timeline.

Then we have the Maple Leafs.

Assuming they do not win the Stanley Cup this season (probably a fair assumption) or make any kind of a serious postseason run (also probably a fair assumption based on the past decade), it would be reasonable to conclude that seismic changes to the roster might finally happen.

They will need a goalie, because they need a goalie right now and that is probably not going to get fixed anytime soon.

They will also have major money coming off the books this season with the expiring contracts of Mitch Marner and John Tavares. While the Maple Leafs have been hesitant to break up their core and trade any of their top players, it would be almost impossible to re-sign players like Marner and Tavares if the Maple Leafs do not win this season.

Letting them walk, opening up that salary-cap space, and potentially using it on an elite goalie would actually represent some real change to a core that has been the one constant in Toronto over the past eight years.

Would it be a change for the better? Hard to say at this point. It would definitely be a significant change and at least a new approach.