Entering the final year of a four-year, $22.67 million contract with the New York Rangers, Igor Shesterkin turned down the team’s offer to become the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history, sources told ESPN’s Kevin Weekes.
Shesterkin was presented with an eight-year, $88 million extension, a deal that would surpass the eight-year, $84 million deal that former Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price signed in 2017, sources confirmed to Weekes.
Shesterkin, 28, will become an unrestricted free agent after this season if he and the Rangers don’t come to terms on a contract.
An All-Star in 2021-22, when he also won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie, Shesterkin is coming off a strong season, finishing 36-17-2 with a .912 save percentage and a 2.58 goals-against average.
“I love the team, I love the fans, so of course it will be great to stay here,” Shesterkin said in September. “But you never know what’s going to happen.”
In five seasons with the Rangers, who selected Shesterkin in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, the Russia native is 135-59-17 with a .921 save percentage and a 2.43 GAA.
Shesterkin is expected to start the Rangers’ regular-season opener Wednesday at the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jonathan Quick, 38, a three-time Stanley Cup winner, is the club’s backup in net.
The Rangers are coming off a season in which they won the Presidents’ Trophy as the top club in the regular season. New York then lost to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Information from Field Level Media was used in this report.