Rumor: Igor Shesterkin rejected $88 million offer
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aicren.com
- . October 8, 2024
Per Kevin Weekes, with Spongebob doing some possibly inappropriate things behind him, Igor Shesterkin rejected an $88 million contract over 8 years with the Rangers. Naturally, this led to the social media mobs calling for Shesterkin to be traded. I get it. It’s a lot of money and it would make him the highest paid goalie in the NHL. But as always, there’s more to it than just dollars and years.
Everyone and their mother is speculating that Shesterkin rejected the offer because he wants to be the highest paid Ranger. That would mean $11.65 million per season, a touch more than Artemi Panarin‘s $11.64 million. This doesn’t really make sense, since Panarin’s contract ends after year one of Igor’s new deal. Also, if the Rangers do target Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel in 2026, they will be well above Igor’s $11.65 million.
I don’t think it’s tied to ego though. I think it’s less about that and more about, as Cam Robinson noted, term.
While Cam theorizes 5 years, it’s an arbitrary number. The thought process is simple. Shesterkin will be 29 this year, and 30 in the first year of his new deal. Unlike Henrik Lundqvist, if he signs a long term contract now, he won’t get another one down the road as a 37 year old goalie, turning 38 midseason on his next contract. If Shesterkin wants to maximize value, he probably wants a shorter term contract now to get another one in 3-5 years.
Playing out the numbers, giving Shesterkin $11.5 million over 3 years is $34.5 million. Assuming he gets another 3 year deal, he’d need to clear $54 million for it to be worth his while. That’s $10.8 million over 5 years. This makes sense, but I’m unsure if the math works out.
I am sticking to my initial guess that $11.5 million is the number.
