NY Rangers' Igor Shesterkin Wisely Still Ranked Among Top Goalies

Do the New York Rangers still have one of the best goalies in the league in Igor Shesterkin?

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

The New York Rangers are getting set for the upcoming season, and the hope will be that they are going to be a much-improved team. 

Coming into the summer, the Rangers were a team that was expected to be aggressive in trying to improve coming off a last-place finish in the Eastern Conference.

While teams that come in last place are generally considered to be rebuilding, New York was very adamant that wasn’t going to be their plan. The word retooling has been thrown around a lot the last several months, and the Rangers really tried hard to improve their roster. 

By all accounts, the team did make improvements in a lot of different areas and should be a better team. While there was some debate whether or not the team should be aggressive or rebuild, the franchise believes that with Igor Shesterkin still in his prime, they can be competitive. 

NHL Network producers recently ranked the Top 10 goalies in the league, and for the Rangers, it was Igor Shesterkin who came in ranked third. 

Shesterkin Wisely Ranked Among the Elites in Net

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

Despite missing a little bit of time last year, Shesterkin was still able to have a very strong campaign for the Rangers. Overall, he totaled a 25-19-6 record, 2.50 GAA, and .912 save percentage. 

The numbers were once again really solid for the 30-year-old, and there is no denying that the Rangers can win any game when he is in the net. With Shesterkin coming in third, it was only Connor Hellebuyck and Andrei Vasilevskiy that were ahead of him. 

While Vasilevskiy did have a better GAA compared to Shesterkin, the two did have the exact same save percentage. Furthermore, it was a bit of a down year for Hellebuyck, who had a save percentage below .900 and allowed 2.89 goals per game. 

Also, when looking at some of the advanced numbers, Shesterkin ranked sixth in the NHL in goals saved above expected. This is a great stat to help highlight who is able to make some of the saves that other goalies aren’t. 

Once again, Vasilevskiy was ahead of him in this category, and his coming in first for the rankings is certainly fair. For the Rangers, they will be excited to have a healthy Shesterkin in the net for the upcoming season, and the 30-year-old is still very much in his prime.