Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers is one year away from unrestricted free agency. (Photo by ... More
As the NHL’s 2024 pre-season reaches its midpoint, two of the most important stories in the league involve the contract statuses of a pair of star netminders.
Their situations are different. But both are proven playoff performers who are seen as crucial contributors in their organizations.
Jeremy Swayman, 25, is a restricted free agent who doesn’t currently have a contract with the Boston Bruins. He is not participating in training camp or pre-season action.
After an arbitrator awarded him a one-year deal at $3.475 million last summer, Swayman moved into a starter’s role, and excelled. He finished with a .916 save percentage over 44 games. In the playoffs, he started 12 of 13 games and bumped that up to a league-best .933, but it still wasn’t enough to get the Bruins past the second round.
Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins prepares to face the Florida Panthers in the 2024 playoffs. ... More
By trading 2023 Vezina winner Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators in June, Boston GM Don Sweeney showed that he was ready to make a long-term commitment to the younger Swayman as his No. 1 going forward. But even though both sides chose not to go back to arbitration during the 2024 off-season, they haven’t been able to find common ground on a new deal.
According to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun of TSN, Swayman is looking for an eight-year commitment, the most allowed by the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement. But as good as he has been through his first four seasons, his 132 games of NHL experience may not be enough to convince Sweeney that he should commit big bucks and a big term. Hence, the impasse.
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Goaltending is a volatile job, especially with the high physical demands of the modern approach to the position. Human hips and knees aren’t really designed to do what goaltenders require over tens of thousands of repetitions. With that in mind, general managers have become more reticent about committing big bucks and maximum term to any stopper, no matter how good.
Though Carey Price's career has been effectively ended by injury, the contract he signed in 2017 ... More
Carey Price’s contract, signed in 2017, is the constant reminder. The eight-year deal at a cap hit of $10.5 million per season is still the largest ever handed out to a goaltender. It remains on the Montreal Canadiens’ books for two more years, even though the 2015 Hart Trophy winner hasn’t played since April 29, 2022.
With the NHL’s salary cap now back on the rise after several years of pandemic-related stagnation, it’s understandable that goalies and their agents want to eclipse that upper limit. As a relatively young goalie who should have a good amount of runway ahead of him, it makes sense for Swayman to aspire to being a standard-bearer. And the deal that he receives now will need to account for the cap increases that are expected in future years.
Swayman’s agent, Lewis Gross, isn’t one to back down in this sort of stalemate. In the NHL, RFAs must be signed to a contract by Dec. 1 in order to play at any point during the current season. In 2018, Gross took his client William Nylander down to the final minutes before that deadline before agreeing to a six-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Meanwhile, on Broadway, 28-year-old Igor Shesterkin is one year away from potential unrestricted free agency. The 2022 Vezina Trophy winner is in camp and has played half a game in pre-season as of Sept. 27.
Back in June, Mollie Walker of the New York Post reported that Shesterkin is looking to set a new standard for goalies, at $12 million per season. That number would also make him the highest-paid player on the Rangers, edging out Artemi Panarin’s cap hit of $11.64 million.
It’s a big ask, especially on a team that is already tight to the $88 million cap ceiling. Two important RFAs with arbitration rights, Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller, also need new deals next season.
With 213 regular-season games on his resume and some standout performances in the playoffs, including last spring, Shesterkin’s value to the Rangers is unquestioned. But sources have told Peter Baugh and Arthur Staple of The Athletic that if Shesterkin’s extension is not locked in before New York’s season opener on Oct. 9, the stopper does not wish to engage in negotiations during the season.
It’s not imposible to re-sign a player on the eve of free agency, as the Florida Panthers did last year with Sam Reinhart. And the club that holds a player’s rights can offer a valuable eighth year on a contract while other suitors are limited to seven years.
But at this time last year, it was unimaginable that Steven Stamkos would leave the Tampa Bay Lightning or that Jonathan Marchessault would move on from the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Fourth Period reported Friday that “the Rangers remain confident they’ll be able to finalize a deal with Shesterkin by the start of the season.” Talks are expected to continue over the weekend.
If Shesterkin’s status remains unsettled when the season begins, it could be an enormous distraction to a Rangers team with Stanley Cup aspirations.