Many of the New York Rangers’ top players struggled last season, which ended with them missing the playoffs. Poor defense plagued them and played a big role in star goalie Igor Shesterkin finishing with the worst record, save percentage (SV%), and goals-against average (GAA) of his career. However, the team should be better defensively, and they should have faith that he will bounce back this season.
Shesterkin’s 2024-25 Season
After making his debut in 2019-20, Shesterkin proved to be a star and someone the rebuilding Rangers could build around. In 2021-22, he won the Vezina Trophy as he finished with a 36-13-4 record, a .935 SV%, and a 2.07 GAA. He has also stepped up in the postseason, as he has won 23 of his 44 starts with a .928 SV% and a 2.41 GAA. He helped New York make a run to the Eastern Conference Final in both 2021-22 and 2023-24.
Related: Rangers Goalie Igor Shesterkin Was Robbed of Winning the Hart Trophy In 2021-22
Throughout his career, Shesterkin has come through in big moments late in close games, and he got off to a strong start last season. He shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 6-0 victory on Oct. 9 and won back-to-back one-goal games over the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 14 and Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 19. After starting the season 8-4-1, the team lost 11 of his next 14 starts.
Shesterkin continued to show off elite quickness, and he made some great clutch saves late in games. However, the team consistently got outplayed and had far too many defensive breakdowns. Peter Laviolette’s man-to-man defensive system, which worked well for the Rangers in 2023-24, did not work in 2024-25. Players were repeatedly caught out of position, leading to chances from the slot and odd-man rushes.
Throughout Shesterkin’s time with the Rangers, they have been able to win games despite getting outplayed, thanks to his play in goal and their strong special teams. Despite continuing to keep them in games last season, their repeated defensive lapses plagued them for the entire season and made it tough for him to win games. Additionally, they had trouble offensively and scored on just 17.6 percent of their power plays, after scoring on 26.4 percent of them in 2023-24.
Shesterkin finished the season with a 27-29-5 record, a .905 SV%, and a 2.86 GAA. He led the NHL in both shots faced with 1,751 and saves with 1,584. While he did not play at the level he did last postseason, he still played fairly well, but got very little help from the rest of the team.
Reasons to Be Hopeful This Season
Despite the difficult 2024-25 season, there are reasons to be hopeful for better results this season. Shesterkin is one of the most talented goalies in the NHL thanks to his quickness, ability to read plays, ability to handle the puck, and consistency.
The Rangers also need to be better defensively, and they made some changes this offseason. They hired Mike Sullivan as their new head coach after he spent 10 seasons with the Penguins and won the Stanley Cup twice. He typically plays a zone defense, which will be a change after playing a man-to-man defense for the past two seasons with Laviolette.
Additionally, the Rangers traded K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes for picks and 22-year-old blueliner Scott Morrow. They also signed defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to a seven-year, $49 million contract. He was excellent defensively with the Los Angeles Kings last season, while Miller had a lot of giveaways late in close games for New York.
Rangers Need to Put Shesterkin in a Position to Succeed
Last season, the Rangers’ poor defensive play set Shesterkin up for failure. His career-worst numbers were largely a product of their defensive mistakes, many of which came after he made timely saves to keep them in games. This season, they need to have better defensive structure to take some of the pressure off of him.
Shesterkin is an elite goalie in his prime, and if the Rangers can play better defensively, he is capable of carrying them into the playoffs.
