3 Questions the Rangers Must Answer After Losing Shesterkin for the Season

The New York Rangers, who were off to a strong start to the season, got some horrible news Saturday afternoon. It was announced that Igor Shesterkin would be out for the season after suffering a lower-body injury in the team’s loss to the Washington Capitals. This is a major blow to a team that looked like they were turning their luck around after a few seasons of failure. Now, there are some major questions the team and front office must answer as the weeks and months go along.

Can The Team Keep Up Their Strong Play Without an Elite Goalie?

The Rangers have been known as a team that has had some of their flaws covered up by having an elite goalie to bail them out. Whether it was Shesterkin or Henrik Lundqvist, they have been blessed with strong goaltending, but now they are going to be without one for the foreseeable future. The big question is: can the team keep up the strong play they have started this season with, or will they fall apart as they have in the previous two seasons?

Their top players will have to step up their game even more, which means getting more offense from players like Pavel Dorofeyev, Mika Zibanejad, and J.T. Miller, who have combined for three goals total to start the season. Alexis Lafreniere and Gabe Perreault have to prove that their hot starts can be sustainable, as they are key players in the top six.

The defense, led by Adam Fox, will have to remain steady and reliable, as they won’t have an all-world goalie to bail them out if they make mistakes. This season will now be one that shows if the Rangers have the fight in them to survive this injury, or if they really are a product of Shesterkin’s success.

Can Dylan Garand Be Relied on to be a Starting Goalie?

With Shesterkin out and backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo injured for another month, the responsibility of starting goalie falls to Dylan Garand. It’s been a wild few weeks for him, as he was put on waivers before the start of the season, and there was a fear he could be claimed by another team. He cleared waivers and reported to the Hartford Wolf Pack, but was recalled a few days later due to the Korpisalo injury. He got his first start of the season in Detroit and shut out the Red Wings. Now, he is the number one goalie for the Rangers as they look to navigate this world without Shesterkin.

This is the opportunity Garand has been waiting for, and while it comes in a way nobody wanted it to, this is the chance for him to prove he can be a starting goalie in the NHL. He’s played in parts of five seasons with the Wolf Pack in the American Hockey League (AHL), and the feeling was that he was ready to get an opportunity to play in the NHL. He played three games for the Rangers last season when the team was out of the playoff race, and he played well. Now, with the chance to be a starting goalie, this is put up or shut up time for Garand.

Will the Rangers Target Another Goalie?

Even with Korpisalo coming back in a month, a tandem with him and an unproven Garand cannot be trusted to help lead the Rangers back to the playoffs. It seems likely they will have to target another goalie at some point, whether via trade or free agency, but that remains to be seen. The free agent list is very thin and does not have many promising names. Some of these include Petr Mrazek, James Reimer, Matt Murray, and even the recently retired Jonathan Quick, who currently works for the Rangers as their director of goaltending development.

When it comes to the trade market, the biggest name out there is Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets. While it would be a massive add, it makes little to no sense for the Rangers to bring in another elite goalie on a long-term deal when Shesterkin is still going to be here as well. Other names to watch on the trade market include Jordan Binnington, John Gibson, and Darcy Kuemper. All three of these goalies have deals expiring at the end of the season, and those are the kinds of players general manager Chris Drury could look to target if he feels the team needs goalie help.

The Shesterkin injury is obviously a massive blow to a team that looked to be on the rise, but it should not be what kills their season. They still have enough talent to be competitive, and if they are able to get average goaltending from Garand, Korpisalo, or an outside target, they should still compete for a playoff spot. The season isn’t over yet, but Drury and the team still need to answer some questions as they move forward without the best goalie in the world.