NY Rangers' Igor Shesterkin Receives Surprising Placement in Early Vezina Rankings

Where did Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers place in early Vezina rankings?

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin (31) skates against the Washington Capitals during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With training camp getting underway for the New York Rangers, the team is hoping to have a bounce-back season. If they are going to accomplish that, they will need one of their top players to be at their best.

As the season gets set to get underway, the Rangers are going to be a very interesting team to keep an eye on. New York will be attempting to go from last place in the Eastern Conference back into playoff contention. 

That is certainly no easy task to accomplish, but the moves that they made this summer could result in the team being able to pull it off. The Rangers will be hoping that this team can gel quickly with a lot of new faces and some young players they are also hoping will take a step forward. 

Furthermore, New York is a team that has some high-level talent in a couple of spots that can win them games. 

Joe Yerdon of Bleacher Report recently ranked the top contenders for the Vezina Trophy, which goes to the best goalie. Surprisingly, Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin came in ranked eighth. 

Shesterkin Should Be Higher

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin (31) guards the net against the Washington Capitals during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The talented goalie of New York is considered to be one of the best in the business, and seeing him come in at eighth in the early rankings is a major surprise. While the Rangers might not have had a great season, Shesterkin still played at a very high level. 

Last season, he totaled a 25-19-6 record, .912 save percentage, and 2.50 GAA. The talented netminder of the Rangers was a winner of the Vezina back in the 2021-22 season, and finished fourth in voting during the 2023-24 campaign. 

However, while the numbers were strong for Shesterkin, he only recorded one shutout. That was the fewest amount that he recorded in a year in which he played at least 30 games. 

Due to the improvements that the Rangers made on the blueline, especially, there is reason to believe that he can be even better this coming season. At just 30 years old, he still has a lot of prime years left in him and is a major reason why the team retooled this summer instead of breaking it down with a rebuild. 

With many still regarding him as one of the best goalies in the league and the Rangers being expected to be an improved team, Shesterkin should be in the running for the trophy this year.