We hate to beat a dead horse here, but the New York Rangers were terrible last season.
They missed the Stanley Cup playoffs, were inconsistent all season long, struggled in their own end, and their big-time players were too quiet at crucial times of the season. When you put all of these things together, you have a club that deserved to miss the postseason for the first time in three years.
Another problem the Rangers had was that their franchise and All-Star goaltender, Igor Shesterkin, was not entirely himself last season. His numbers clearly show that as Shesterkin, 28, was 27-29-0-5 with a 2.86 goals-against average, a .905 save percentage, and six shutouts.
Both Shesterkin’s goals-against average and save percentage were career-worst numbers since joining the league in the 2019-20 season. A lot of that had to do with the way the team played in front of him, but some of it had to do with how he played as he allowed more soft goals than usual, did not come up with the big saves that both the team and their fans have been seeing since he came into the league, and he also looked uncomfortable at times.
For both the Rangers and Shesterkin, now is the time to look forward. The franchise has a new head coach in Mike Sullivan, a few new roster additions, and some roster additions by subtraction, as well as a clean slate.
In looking at things that way, there is no reason why Shesterkin cannot come back this upcoming season and be one of the top goaltenders in the league. There are a few reasons why he can return to top form this season.
For starters, Igor Shesterkin is still an all-world goaltender. For his career, he is currently 162-88-0-22 with a 2.52 goals-against average, a .917 save percentage, and 21 shutouts in 274 career games.
One also cannot forget how great he is in the postseason. In 44 games, Shesterkin is 23-20 with a 2.41 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage.
As one can tell from the above, Shesterkin can put up great numbers consistently. As such, there is no reason he cannot do so again this upcoming season.
Secondly, Shesterkin had some positive underlying numbers last season that a lot of people do not realize. do not meet the eye. In an article written by Jack McKenna of Blueshirt Banter, McKenna pointed out that compared with other NHL goaltenders, Shesterkin more than got the job done.
“Using Evolving Hockey’s Goals Saved Above Expected model, Shesterkin finishes a much more respectable sixth among his peers.”
Considering that Shesterkin played behind a team and defense that gave up about 30 shots per game, which was sixth-worst in the league, his being sixth in advanced goaltending statistics is remarkable. The Rangers were terrible on the defensive end of the puck last season, and nevertheless, Shesterkin still managed to play above-average hockey.
Lastly, with a new coach comes a new system. Given the way the Rangers played without the puck last season, one would expect Sullivan to employ a much tighter defensive system that will allow both Shesterkin and backup goaltender Jonathan Quick to have a lot of success this season.
All the pieces are in place for Igor Shesterkin to go out and be a dominant goaltender in the league next season. It is now up to Shesterkin to get the job done for both himself and his team.
ITR 47: Then There Was Nothing – Inside The Rink
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