2025 Rangers Season Previews: Igor Shesterkin

$11.5M.

In all seriousness, folks, what do you expect me to say here? While sitting down in front of my laptop, attempting to write this, I can’t help but feel like Hall of Fame NBA player Allen Iverson when he sat in front of the media in 2002 and repeatedly exclaimed, “Practice?”

“I’m supposed to be the franchise player, and we in here talking about practice?” Iverson said point-blank to the onlooking group of chuckling reporters.

We’re talking about the New York Rangers—the team that failed to make the playoffs, fired their head coach, and were embroiled in more drama than a single episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty—and we’re here talking about Igor Shesterkin?

Realistically, I know I have to put this article out or Joe Fortunato will show up at my house and make me watch Jake Leschyshyn highlights as punishment, but it feels contrived.

Previous Performance

We’re really going to do this, huh? Okay, fine, I’ll play along.

The 2024–25 NHL season brought unprecedented challenges not only for Shesterkin but for the entire New York Rangers. In 61 games played, Shesterkin faced a whopping 1,751 shots on goal and made a league-leading 1,584 saves in the process. Hung out to dry much?

While his 29 losses were the second most in the NHL (Juuse Saros, 31), Igor still managed 27 wins, put up a .905 save percentage, a 2.86 goals-against average, and six shutouts—plus a Goalie Point Shares of 11.6, his best point share since 2022–23 (11.8). It’s safe to say that much of Igor’s downtrodden season was solely a product of his environment.

As per Clear Sight Analytics, the Rangers were akin to a paper-thin slice of Swiss cheese defensively. Tasty? Sure, if it’s your last resort and the fridge is empty.

By the end, the Rangers ranked 30th in Expected Goals Against (5v5), 29th in Expected Goals Against (5v5 Rush), and 31st in Expected Goals Against (PK 4v5). Simply put, they played defense as if they had that walrus, Duncan, from the GEICO commercials backing them up every night.

Even during their hot 12-4-1 start, the Rangers graded out horrifically on defense. Things only collapsed further mid-season, when the team hit one of the worst skids I’ve ever seen, ranking 32nd in all of those defensive categories. And spoiler: there are only 32 NHL teams. Straight bottom of the barrel, people.

As one Reddit user brilliantly summarized: “Igor should get to kick Phil Housley square in the nuts after every loss.” Honestly? I couldn’t agree more; he totally should have.

Folks, if you watched the New York Rangers last season and thought, even for a minute, that Igor was the “problem,” please visit your local ophthalmologist, because simply put, your peepers ain’t peeping right.

Expectations

What are my expectations for Igor Shesterkin? Come on, guys.

We all know how this goes: Igor will get peppered more than a $4 steak, breakdance in the crease like he’s Boogaloo Shrimp, and still get blamed if the Rangers lose, usually by the same fans who think analytics are “dumb.”

Thankfully—much to my surprise—the Rangers did something to bolster their defense going into 2025–26. They added Vladislov Gavrikov and picked up young Scott Morrow in the trade that sent K’Andre Miller over to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Morrow has already been noticeable in the preseason, while Gavrikov looked to be right at home against the Boston Bruins, potting a shorthanded goal off a feed from Noah Laba.

The hope is that these new defensive additions will gel with the likes of Fox, Braden Schneider, Will Borgen, Urho Vaakanainen, and Carson Soucy to help greatly reduce Igor’s workload, allowing him to thrive more than Belly did in Paris. (And that’s how you do a callback, folks!)

Anyway, back to expectations. Mine haven’t changed, and yours shouldn’t either.

If anything, I expect more now that Igor’s on the Matt Rempe Workout Plan.

He’ll suit up, hit the ice, and give the Rangers all he has for sixty minutes (or more), the same way he has for years. Igor is the backbone of this team — like his predecessor — capable of flipping momentum with one save or a stretch pass leading to a high-danger chance. Simply put, Igor Shesterkin is one of the only Rangers that I’m not worried about.

Predictions

1. Igor Shesterkin finally scores a goal for the New York Rangers.
2. And, for the first time in his NHL career, Igor eclipses the 40-win mark.

The Bottom Line

Igor isn’t just the Rangers’ goalie; he’s their safety net, parachute, and occasionally their emotional support animal when the defense forgets how to play hockey. Pencil him in for 40 wins, eight shutouts, and at least a few nights where he drags this team across the finish line on his back like a disgruntled Sherpa.

With Mike Sullivan cracking the whip in his first year behind the bench, the Rangers will almost certainly stumble their way back into the playoffs. And when they do, it won’t be because of some miracle system or defensive epiphany — it’ll be because Igor Shesterkin is still Igor Shesterkin.