Igor Shesterkin is arguably the best goalie in the NHL, but if there’s one area of the New York Rangers’ Superman goalie that he has a little bit of kryptonite in, it’s the shootout.
Let’s get something straight here. Shesterkin is still damn good in the shootout. Last season, he had a solid .727 save percentage in the shootout. And that number was .741 when he won the Vezina Trophy as the best NHL goalie in 2021-22.
And let’s not forget his performance at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game. He finished second to former Rangers teammate Alexandar Georgiev in the One-On-One Challenge skills competition. Shesterkin blocked seven of 11 breakaway attempts by Islanders star Mathew Barzal.
Then Shesterkin helped Team Matthews win the All-Star Game the next day by stopping all four shooters in a shootout victory. The group he took out included Kyle Connor, Nikita Kucherov, Elias Pettersson and JT Miller. Not bad.
“The most important thing was that I stopped Kucherov,” joked Shesterkin about his compatriot. “After that, I just tried to stop the puck again.”
Shesterkin’s heroics that day came as no surprise to his Rangers teammate Vincent Trocheck, who also played for Team Matthews.
“I mean, I can see that all the time,” Trocheck said. “But it was cool to sit on the bench with the guys and hear, ‘Oh my God!’ as he makes his saves. I mean, he made some insane saves today. As we all know, he does that day in and day out in New York. So it was cool to see that.”
See also: Igor Shesterkin named best goalie by NHL Network
Rangers player Igor Shesterkin names the three most difficult opponents in the penalty shootout
Among current NHL goalies, Shesterkin ranks 16th in shootout save percentage. Linus Ullmark of the Ottawa Senators, who won the 2023 Vezina Trophy with the Boston Bruins, has a career shootout save percentage of .818 with 54 shots saved on 66 shots faced. Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko is close behind with .816 (40 of 49 shots saved).
Two-time Stanley Cup winner Andrei Valsilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning is in third place at .791. He has won 22 of 29 shootouts in his career.
Goalies ahead of Shesterkin include Jake Oettinger (Dallas Stars) and Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators), as well as Petr Mrazek (Chicago Blackhawks) and Elvis Merzlikins (Columbus Blue Jackets). Shesterkin has an overall record of 10-8 in shootouts, stopping 52 of 73 attempts.
Recently, the 28-year-old, who can be an unrestricted free agent after the 2024-25 season, was asked which three players would be the hardest for him to pick in the shootout. Shesterkin chose a future Hall of Famer as his first choice.
“It occurs to me that there are a lot of players who have scored against me, so it’s hard to pick just three,” Shesterkin said in a transcribed video from his native Russia. “I’ll start with (Sidney) Crosby because he can always make difficult plays that are very difficult to predict.”
Shesterkin then named Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils and Nathan MacKinnon, the reigning Hart Trophy winner, as the Colorado Avalanche’s NHL MVP.
And as for Kucherov, whose stoppage in the All-Star Game shootout he was so proud of, Shesterkin received greater recognition.
When asked not to say a word until the name of the best (Russian-born) hockey player is heard, Shesterkin remained silent until the Lightning forward’s name was mentioned. The goalie remained silent even when his Rangers teammate Artemi Panarin and future Hall of Famer Alex Ovechkin were mentioned. When Kucherov’s name was called, he said “Cut!”
Shesterkin is preparing for his sixth season with the Rangers. His team is reportedly seeking a long-term contract that would make him the highest-paid goalie in NHL history, surpassing Carey Price’s $10.5 million annual salary. That demand could be as much as 14 percent of the salary cap, or about $13 million per season.
After his incredible playoff success last spring, Shesterkin is due a huge payday. The biggest question is when a deal will happen, although the Rangers can sign Shesterkin to an extension immediately if the parties reach an agreement.
Read more: New York Rangers News
