Igor Shesterkin suffers the fate of Henrik Lundqvist

When talking about the history of the New York Rangers, you can’t ignore the many incredible goaltenders in the team’s history. No one was better in his career than Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist did just about everything a goalie could do in his career, except completing the ultimate task: winning the Stanley Cup. It looks like Igor Shesterkin is suffering the same fate as his predecessor, with the Rangers being a complete train wreck for him.

Funnily enough, Shesterkin is the reason why Lundqvist was bought out and signed with the Washington Capitals before being forced to retired due to heart disease. The net belonged to Igor, and it looks like Lundqvist blessed him with top talent and a terrible team. A real monkey’s paw, if you will.

With Shesterkin on board after Lundqvist was bought out, the Rangers’ continued dominance in net led to more playoff appearances. Shesterkin and Lundqvist shared the net in the 2020 playoff bubble and failed to win a game. Shesterkin got his first experience as a top dog in 2022, winning two rounds and nearly taking the team to the Stanley Cup. After a rough outing in 2023, Shesterkin won two more rounds and nearly took his team back to the Stanley Cup.

Lundqvist was fortunate in his career to make the playoffs every year from 2011 to 2018 after 2010. During that stretch, Lundqvist made the Eastern Conference Finals in 2012, 2014 and 2015, and the Stanley Cup Finals in 2014. Unfortunately, the Rangers lost twice in the Eastern Conference Finals and once in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Igor Shesterkin, on the other hand, is 0-2 in his career in Eastern Conference Finals. During none of these rounds was Shesterkin even remotely the problem.

Unfortunately, Shesterkin’s career starts to look a bit like deja vu when you compare it to Lundqvist’s. Lundqvist was always the man for the Rangers. When all else failed, he was the steady presence that made the team win. Shesterkin is much the same. Although he has had his problems, there has never been any doubt that he is a top five goalkeeper in the sport.

But with Lundqvist and now Shesterkin, the team around the goalie still matters. In Lundqvist’s career, the Rangers were always missing a few stars to put the team over the top. Vibes are important, but talent is more important. With Shesterkin, the Rangers lost in the Conference Finals to two teams with much more star power and much more depth.

Some might blame the goalies’ contracts for that lack of star power or depth, but I’d blame the GMs. Lundqvist suffered a playing career under Glen Sather, and now Shesterkin suffers under Chris Drury.

Shesterkin deserves better than this, just like Lundqvist deserved better in his career. It’s not too late for Shesterkin. Hopefully the team can build around him in this new approach and prove that they have learned from their mistakes. I’m sure no one advocates that more than Henrik Lundqvist. He knows it all too well.