Media Bytes: Shesterkin Fallout, Hellebuyck, Laf, Perreault, and Kartye

Welcome to a special edition of Media Bytes, a weekly column from Blueshirt Banter. Every Sunday (and, on this occasion, Tuesday), we’ll help you start the week right with a quick catch-up on the latest stories and developments around the New York Rangers and the broader NHL media landscape.

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The Buyck Stops Here

1. Ever since the Rangers announced that Igor Shesterkin would miss the remainder of the season, you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a fan proposing that the club acquire Connor Hellebuyck from the Winnipeg Jets. As it turns out, fans aren't the only ones who see a potential fit. On Monday, Elliotte Friedman offered his own take on 32 Thoughts.

In response to Kyle Bukauskis, who referenced a tweet from Kevin Weekes questioning which goaltenders the Rangers might target following Shesterkin's injury, Friedman agreed with the sentiment.

"If I was the Rangers, I would do it, and then figure out what else I had to do later," he said. "It's New York. It's the Rangers."

"I bet if James Dolan watched [Weekes] say that, he'd probably order Chris Drury to do it; but luckily, there's no way Jim Dolan is watching our garbage," Friedman joked.

Friedman was quick to temper expectations, however. He doesn't believe the Rangers will actually acquire Hellebuyck, noting that both goaltenders are under contract for multiple years and that he struggles to envision a deal that makes sense for both sides.

"Unless there's a three-way deal there, I don't see a path for that deal to get done," he continued. "A ton of [the Rangers'] guys have trade protection."

Friedman suggested that, had this conversation taken place last season, the Rangers might have dangled Alexis Lafrenière as part of an offer. This year, though, Lafrenière "looks like a completely different player." Friedman also doesn't believe New York would entertain moving Gabe Perreault or even Cole Beaudoin, leaving the Rangers with a dwindling pool of assets to tempt Winnipeg.

"I just don't see the deal, but I understand. If I was running the Rangers, I'd think about it, especially if they continue to play well," Friedman said. "Go for it, and then figure everything out in the summer. I love the idea."

"I don't think it's going to happen and I was told it wasn't going to happen, but I love the idea."

Mining for Depth

2. Friedman also weighed in on the Rangers' decision to pass on Trent Miner, the 25-year-old goaltender the Colorado Avalanche placed on waivers last weekend. Miner went unclaimed, but Friedman wondered whether New York should have taken a flier on him.

"I kind of wondered if they would take Trent Miner off waivers, but he's been injured all year, too," he said. "They've already got Korpisalo hurt, and Spencer Martin—who backed up Garand on Sunday—is coming off an injury. Miner's a talented guy who could fill in for the month that Korpisalo's hurt, but he hasn't played."

According to a source Friedman spoke with, the Rangers ultimately decided that adding another goaltender coming off an injury simply didn't make sense amid an already extensive run of bad luck on the health front.

Curse of the Crease

3. Rangers Recon also weighed in on the fallout from Shesterkin's season-ending injury, with Arthur Staple half-joking that the Rangers might actually be cursed.

"After the last two seasons of misery and apathy, the vibes were so high to start this year," Staple said, before speculating that perhaps Shesterkin had "sold his soul" to score the goalie goal he'd been trying to pull off for years.

"It's demoralizing. You look around the East and you say, when the Rangers are playing like this, with their goalie playing like this, who can beat them in a seven-game series?" he asked rhetorically. "Honestly, I thought no one. No one right now. And now the doubts [come in] asking can they overcome this? It's going to be a grind. There's a long way to go."

A Garand Opportunity

4. Still, it wasn't all doom and gloom. Both Staple and Andrew Chelney agreed that Shesterkin's absence presents a significant opportunity for Dylan Garand to seize the reins, though they also expect the Rangers to bring in a veteran goaltender to provide some insurance.

"I think with [Garand's] comfort level, with the goalie department in this organization that he's worked with for a long time, I'd definitely go with [him] and I think I'd be looking for a capable number two or 2B-type," Staple said.

He went on to identify several potential options, including Montreal's Sam Montembeault, who had been playing at a decent level before a short-term injury sidelined him. Staple also pointed to San Jose's surplus of goaltenders with NHL experience, specifically mentioning Ilya Samsonov, who's currently in the minors, and Alex Lyon, who is also dealing with an injury.

In Staple's view, there's a small pool of veteran options the Rangers could explore without surrendering significant assets. The ideal candidate would be a reliable partner for Garand, not a threat to his opportunity.

"Character matters when you try to find someone like this," he continued. "You don't want a guy who's going to sulk or be selfish or say I'm competing for this job. You have to come in with the idea that Garand is the guy who we're going to give the longest runway we can [and] we just want a guy who's used to being a complementary guy."

Staple acknowledged that he wasn't working from any inside information, but he believes common sense points toward a transaction in the coming days or weeks. The Rangers, in his view, should be able to find a recognizable veteran who can stabilize the position without creating a potential headache when Joonas Korpisalo eventually returns from his own injury.

Signs of Laf

5. Vince Mercogliano joined The Sheet with Jeff Marek on Monday to discuss the immediate fallout from Shesterkin's season-ending injury. While much of the conversation covered familiar ground regarding how the Rangers plan to navigate the next month as they await Joonas Korpisalo's recovery from his own preseason injury, Mercogliano also offered some encouraging thoughts on the development of Alexis Lafrenière and Gabe Perreault.

He argued that the organization has reason to feel good about both players' early-season performances, even if neither ultimately becomes a star-level contributor.

"You're seeing signs of growth and they need young skill, young playmakers — that's been a big void on this team for a number of years," he said. "Those two guys inspire some hope that, at least in a couple of spots, they've found it."

Kartye Party

6. That optimism wasn't limited to Lafrenière and Perreault. To close out the interview, Marek asked Mercogliano about Tye Kartye, and the Rangers' hard-nosed forward received similarly high praise.

"I think this guy's gonna get like 12–15 goals this year, pretty easily," Mercogliano said, highlighting Kartye's versatility and "underrated" wrist shot.

But it's Kartye's relentless motor—and the infectious energy he's brought to the Rangers' forecheck—that has arguably made the biggest impression.

"Sullivan always says he's a dog on a bone. He just plays like his hair is on fire every single shift," Mercogliano said. "[That's] one of the big things that I've noticed that's different about this Rangers team early in the year — the buy in and the cohesion when it comes to forechecking."

"Sullivan wants them to be aggressive and it all starts with a forecheck. If that forecheck doesn't have teeth to it, the whole thing kind of crumbles," he continued. "The Rangers are doing a better job of that early in the season and Kartye is a guy that sets the tone in that regard. He defends really hard, forechecks really hard, and is willing to do all the dirty work. As a fourth-liner, I think he's outstanding."

Kartye, of course, isn't actually playing on the fourth line, but that minor lineup discrepancy doesn't detract from Mercogliano's larger point: the forward has quickly established himself as the kind of hard-nosed, versatile contributor every team needs.

In fact, Mercogliano recalled a conversation with a scout over the summer while discussing Pavel Dorofeyev. Without being prompted, the scout brought up Kartye, admitting he still couldn't understand how Seattle had let him go on waivers.

"He's the kind of player that every team wants in their lineup and he's been a great find for the Rangers," Mercogliano concluded.