In-house choices
New York might begin by trying in-house, although choices are restricted. Jonathan Fast is 38, on an expiring contract and doubtless cannot be counted on as a real No. 1. He hasn’t been a starting-quality netminder since his resurgent 2021-22 marketing campaign — the final time he began greater than half of his staff’s video games.
Dylan Garand, 22, is mostly thought-about the staff’s high goaltending prospect. He was an elite Western Hockey Leagie goaltender, posting a 28-10-3 file with a .921 save proportion in his remaining season. Since signing with New York, nonetheless, his outcomes with the Hartford Wolf Pack have been combined. His regular-season numbers embody a pedestrian .896 save proportion and a 33-33-9 file. His playoff numbers are higher (10-7 with a .922 save proportion).
Elsewhere on the farm, New York invested later-round picks in two 6-foot-8 goalies. Talyn Boyko is a long-shot prospect who’s enjoying nicely within the ECHL. His mountainous counterpart, Swede Hugo Ollas, is a former Merrimack Faculty goalie who’s struggling within the ECHL (.878 save proportion).
Free company
Shesterkin is the crown jewel in free company — if he makes it to the open market. He doubtlessly might greater than double his present $5,666,667 wage.
There are different intriguing names — Jake Allen (New Jersey), Frederik Andersen (Carolina) and Ilya Samsonov (Vegas), for instance — however none of them would price anyplace close to Shesterkin. However that is additionally as a result of there merely is not a participant on this present crop of potential free brokers like Shesterkin. Nobody on this market has his pedigree of regular-season success, together with a Vezina Trophy, All-Star choice, a Hart Trophy finalist choice and one other top-five Vezina end.
None of those gamers have his postseason success. Shesterkin has been New York’s finest participant en route to 5 playoff-series wins in three seasons, posting a .928 save proportion and a .750 quality-start proportion, according to Hockey-Reference (.530 is taken into account league common).
Commerce
There are alternatives, together with former extremely touted prospects who might be searching for new properties relying on how the remainder of this season progresses.
Devon Levi is struggling once more in Buffalo and isn’t even a starter.
Spencer Knight is one other former first-round decide who has had on- and off-ice struggles. Florida gave Knight a three-year extension in anticipation of him taking the starter’s internet from Sergei Bobrovsky, however that by no means materialized.
Filip Gustavsson in Minnesota was the topic of commerce rumors. He is off to an amazing begin and nonetheless has a 12 months left on his deal after this one, however Minnesota could also be hesitant to deal him and switch the online over to rising prospect Jesper Wallstedt after Wallstedt’s gradual begin this season within the AHL.
Then there are reclamation tasks who might be had at a reduction, reminiscent of John Gibson in Anaheim or Tristan Jarry in Pittsburgh — assuming a deal could be struck the place the originating staff eats among the contract.
In the end, the scouting division in New York would wish to make evaluations on these gamers, however the case for any of them is not all that compelling in comparison with the case for merely paying Shesterkin.