Russell’s Roundup: Goalies, Goalies, Goalies

Ilya Sorokin signed an eight-year contract extension of $66 million on July 1st last year to remain a New York Islander through 2032. At the time, it was lauded as fair for both sides, with Sorokin having just had a Vezina-worthy season but narrowly lost out to Linus Ullmark. Despite a down year this season, the Islanders should feel good about the deal. Especially now that reports are starting to percolate in New York, Igor Shesterkin is seeking up to $12 million a season. That would be the most all-time for a goalie while dwarfing the Sorokin deal. Elsewhere, the goalie trade market, particularly around Linus Ullmark, is getting hot, and much more.

$12 million for Shesterkin. It would certainly add to the New York Rangers cap woes. They’ll also have to extend Alexis Lafreniere before July 1st next year. All of this while no major Ranger deal comes off the cap. It will be a real squeeze for them, and maybe this upcoming season is their last shot before taking a step back to accommodate the new contracts.

Seeing that big of a number float for Shesterkin should make Islanders fans feel great. As up and down as Sorokin’s season was, he’s only going to bounce back from that. Shesterkin also had a similar rough patch before reemerging and almost singlehandedly getting the team to game 6 in the Conference Finals. In the last two years, mainly due to mediocre offensive outputs, the Islanders have gone as far as Sorokin took them. There isn’t anyone on the planet who doesn’t see Sorokin as a potential Stanley Cup-winning goalie, and his deal left enough money on the table for the Islanders to build around him. 

New York Islanders:

NYI Hockey Now: Monday was UFA day here, which made yesterday RFA day. We reviewed what extensions could look like for the Islanders’ pending RFAs and what cap would be left over for General Manager Lou Lamoriello to use—all that and more in yesterday’s RFA Primer.

NHL Trade Talk, News, and National Hockey Now:

NY Post: The Rangers’ dream died a few nights ago, and now all attention has fallen upon it. Summer moves to get them further than last year. However, priority number one is that massive money extension for Shesterkin.

The Athletic ($): Yesterday, both the Rangers and Stars held locker cleanouts. For you Islanders fans, in case you wanted to revel in more of the Rangers’ agony, here are the highlights from yesterday’s final chapter for the 2023-24 New York Rangers.

The Athletic ($): Pierre LeBrun wrote another fresh batch of his rumblings. There was a heavy focus on Linus Ullmark and who could look to acquire him, maybe the New Jersey Devils, who publicly announced they’d shop the 10th Overall Pick to LeBrun here,

Boston Hockey Now: The great Andrew Fantucchio, based on those reports yesterday, discussed exactly why New Jersey is a great fit to trade with for the Bruins, and maybe the pieces are already coming together.

New Jersey Hockey Now: James Nichols also wrote about the carousel of goalie options for the Devils yesterday, honing in, particularly on two possibilities: Ullmark and Jacob Markstrom. The options for NJ are there, and this isn’t the first interest; it’s just renewed interest.

Florida Hockey Now: When a team makes it to consecutive championships, it probably knows how to win. It’s likely multiple bounces didn’t quite go their way the first time, and that’s how it goes. The last thing you’d want to do as an opponent is feed them bulletin board material, but that’s exactly what Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch did yesterday when he compared Florida to the Buffalo Bills.

Buffalo Hockey Now: Can Buffalo land its white whale? What are the odds they bring Patrick Kane home?