New York Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist, Alexandar Georgiev will now be sharing the goaltending duties with the recently-promoted Igor Shesterkin.
The future begins now for the New York Rangers. On Monday, the team announced that they’ve called up goaltender Igor Shesterkin from the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack.
OFFICIAL: Rangers recall goaltender Igor Shesterkin from @WolfPackAHL.
— x – New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 6, 2020
The 24-year-old posted a 15-4-3 record in 23 games for the Wolf Pack along with three shutouts, a 1.93 goals-against average, and a .932 save percentage. Shesterkin was named to the AHL All-Star Classic last week. He had won his last four decisions and was named the AHL Goalie of the Month for October, his first month playing as a professional in North America.
Following the announcement, Larry Brooks of the New York Post tweeted that the call-up was not made due to any health-related issues. Henrik Lundqvist was unable to play against the Calgary Flames last Thursday due to sickness. Speculation thus remained that he was still under the weather.
Nonetheless, that doesn’t seem to be the case for the longtime goaltender.
Shesterkin recall is not related to goaltending health issues. No word at this point, team practices at 11, but expect Shesterkin to get the assignment tomorrow at MSG v Colorado. They didn't bring him here to dance.
— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) January 6, 2020
The Rangers didn’t need to send anyone down to the minors to clear space for Shesterkin. New York had placed forward Brendan Lemieux on injured reserve last week which created a free roster spot.
It appears the Rangers will go with a three-goalie rotation for the time being as the club stays patient on evaluating the play of Shesterkin at the NHL level. At this current time, it’s a smart move by the organization. They receive the opportunity to look at their future No. 1 goalie without causing a disruption to their lineup.
It’s likely that Shesterkin will start in net on Tuesday. So who’s going to dress in the backup role?
One would think the answer is Lundqvist, but somewhere down the road, Hank will be a healthy scratch. Simply speaking, the transformation of Lundqvist from starter to backup has begun right in front of the eyes of every fan.
