Walker Shesterkin Aiming for Historic Contract; Rejects 8-Year/$88M Deal ($11M AAV)

[RangersIn7]

1 hour ago, Sharpshooter said:

Yeah, he's at a tricky age for long-term contracts, and this (the contract) will most definitely age worse than the Lundqvist extension. There are injury, durability and consistency concerns already with him as great as he's been.

This is how the NHL, and a lot of sports, set it up.

 

They want these guys cheap early plus 7 years of team control.

 

The flip side is that when they can sign that big FA deal, they’re at or approaching 30. So you’re paying them until they’re getting close to 40. 

[Phil]

15 hours ago, BrooksBurner said:

Panarin’s cap hit out is possible after this season, but most likely it is summer 2026. That is when Drury will have the opportunity to shape the roster.

 

We don’t know right now what exactly the team will need at that point. What they shouldn’t need is a goalie

 

Right, so these are two separate financial windows, then.

 

The first one includes Shesterkin + Lafreniere + Miller + Kakko + Lindgren, minus Trouba

The second includes Schneider, minus Panarin, maybe.

 

Again, the math doesn't math. I'd love to see how you structure a roster for next season with a $12 million dollar goalie.

[jsm7302]

1 minute ago, Phil said:

 

Right, so these are two separate financial windows, then.

 

The first one includes Shesterkin + Lafreniere + Miller + Kakko + Lindgren, minus Trouba

The second includes Schneider, minus Panarin, maybe.

 

Again, the math doesn't math. I'd love to see how you structure a roster for next season with a $12 million dollar goalie.

That's 12mil for a starter playing 55 games. Better have a competent backup to play 27 more. That's gunna cost 1.5-3 mil. So essentially 14-15 mil for goalies ......WHAT!?!

[Phil]

4 minutes ago, jsm7302 said:

That's 12mil for a starter playing 55 games. Better have a competent backup to play 27 more. That's gunna cost 1.5-3 mil. So essentially 14-15 mil for goalies ......WHAT!?!

 

And based on the Athletic article Pete posted earlier, that starter could slip quickly and rapidly to a $12million backup by age 34:

 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5829517/2024/10/09/nhl-goalie-salary-contract-swayman-shesterkin?source=user-shared-article

 

In other words, 12x8 for two years of elite play, two of average, and four of bad. It's Brad Richards, but in goal.

 

DO. NOT. PAY. THAT. MAN.

[Pete]

6 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Right, so these are two separate financial windows, then.

 

The first one includes Shesterkin + Lafreniere + Miller + Kakko + Lindgren, minus Trouba

The second includes Schneider, minus Panarin, maybe.

 

Again, the math doesn't math. I'd love to see how you structure a roster for next season with a $12 million dollar goalie.

Added...structure a competitive roster that can actually score goals. 

[RJWantsTheCup]

Sign him to a 1 year deal for 9-10M with the understanding that they go long term after Trouba and whomever else comes off the books.  

[BrooksBurner]

25 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Right, so these are two separate financial windows, then.

 

The first one includes Shesterkin + Lafreniere + Miller + Kakko + Lindgren, minus Trouba

The second includes Schneider, minus Panarin, maybe.

 

Again, the math doesn't math. I'd love to see how you structure a roster for next season with a $12 million dollar goalie.

 

Fox, Lafreniere, Shesterkin. That’s all I care about right now. Miller, Kakko, and Lindgren are afterthoughts. I’ll say bye to whatever support or aging vet or underperforming player I have to for the first 3 players to be the backbone through about 2031.

[Pete]

16 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

 

Fox, Lafreniere, Shesterkin. That’s all I care about right now. Miller, Kakko, and Lindgren are afterthoughts. I’ll say bye to whatever support or aging vet or underperforming player I have to for the first 3 players to be the backbone through about 2031.

But we've already seen that's not good enough, last year. 

[Pete]

1 hour ago, RJWantsTheCup said:

Sign him to a 1 year deal for 9-10M with the understanding that they go long term after Trouba and whomever else comes off the books.  

That doesn't help with the AAV.

[BrooksBurner]

2 minutes ago, Pete said:

But we've already seen that's not good enough, last year. 

No. What isn’t good enough is Panarin, Trouba, and Zibanejad at $28 million.

 

Lafreniere hasn’t peaked. Fox and Igor still have prime years to give. They need to switch out the parts who don’t contribute to winning playoff hockey, especially relative to their paycheck.

[Phil]

46 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

Fox, Lafreniere, Shesterkin. That’s all I care about right now. Miller, Kakko, and Lindgren are afterthoughts. I’ll say bye to whatever support or aging vet or underperforming player I have to for the first 3 players to be the backbone through about 2031.

 

OK, and replace them with who? I'm not trying to a jerk off here, but the fact you're unwilling to show me what your roster looks like tells me you don't really care that much about the heart of this argument, which leads me to believe you want to keep Shesterkin basically at any cost. I don't want to prescribe your opinion to you, so by all means, push back, but I don't know what else to do here but assume.

[Phil]

22 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

No. What isn’t good enough is Panarin, Trouba, and Zibanejad at $28 million.

 

Lafreniere hasn’t peaked. Fox and Igor still have prime years to give. They need to switch out the parts who don’t contribute to winning playoff hockey, especially relative to their paycheck.

 

OK, but two of those guys, I think you'd agree, are unlikely to go. Zibanejad is unlikely to go, ever.

 

I just don't see the promise you do, even though I agree in principle with statements like "Lafreniere hasn't peaked." You're loading a ton of hope into breakouts for a lot of players who haven't shown a reason to believe that's coming.

[Pete]

24 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

No. What isn’t good enough is Panarin, Trouba, and Zibanejad at $28 million.

 

Lafreniere hasn’t peaked. Fox and Igor still have prime years to give. They need to switch out the parts who don’t contribute to winning playoff hockey, especially relative to their paycheck.

OK and who are you replacing those players with? Even when Lafreniere peaks, he's not likely to be at Panarin's level.

 

You can't worry about the playoffs if you can't get into them.

[Keirik]

Call up a team like Utah and offer them Shesterkin and Othmann for Keller and 

Vejmelka. That gives them a full 82 games to figure out how to play when you don't have the best goalie on the planet behind you.

 

 

 Just don't be upset when they are a wildcard team and lose in the first two rounds. 

[Albatrosss]

3 hours ago, Phil said:

 

And based on the Athletic article Pete posted earlier, that starter could slip quickly and rapidly to a $12million backup by age 34:

 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5829517/2024/10/09/nhl-goalie-salary-contract-swayman-shesterkin?source=user-shared-article

 

In other words, 12x8 for two years of elite play, two of average, and four of bad. It's Brad Richards, but in goal.

 

DO. NOT. PAY. THAT. MAN.

ok, we wont

[Albatrosss]

36 minutes ago, Keirik said:

Call up a team like Utah and offer them Shesterkin and Othmann for Keller and 

Vejmelka. That gives them a full 82 games to figure out how to play when you don't have the best goalie on the planet behind you.

 

 

 Just don't be upset when they are a wildcard team and lose in the first two rounds. 

i'd do the trade right now.   This team is good enough to win without Shesty.  

[Keirik]

17 minutes ago, Albatrosss said:

i'd do the trade right now.   This team is good enough to win without Shesty.  

I doubt dhesty nets that return but I'd do it too if they are foing to walk away from him

 Would be more like a McBain and Vej + pick

[Phil]

Pretty sure Utah isn't trading Keller considering they just named him captain.

[Keirik]

6 minutes ago, Phil said:

Pretty sure Utah isn't trading Keller considering they just named him captain.

That part i didn't know. Was just throwing out a team that could afford Shesty and or might be chilling to make a splash 

[jsm7302]

34 minutes ago, Keirik said:

That part i didn't know. Was just throwing out a team that could afford Shesty and or might be chilling to make a splash 

Send him to Columbus. Let the greed take him to Ohio.

[Keirik]

17 minutes ago, jsm7302 said:

Send him to Columbus. Let the greed take him to Ohio.

Maybe but realistically any team like Columbus would need a guarantee he agrees to remain there

[Sharpshooter]

Yeah, no one really wants to go or stay in Columbus. lol

[BrooksBurner]

5 hours ago, Phil said:

 

OK, and replace them with who? I'm not trying to a jerk off here, but the fact you're unwilling to show me what your roster looks like tells me you don't really care that much about the heart of this argument, which leads me to believe you want to keep Shesterkin basically at any cost. I don't want to prescribe your opinion to you, so by all means, push back, but I don't know what else to do here but assume.

It’s not that pressing to solve is your answer. I don’t think they are winning with the high cap forwards they have at the top of the lineup, and we are likely just buying time until summer 2026. That’s why I am viewing this at a macro level. Pick the backbone. Go from there. You are operating at the micro level (tertiary players), and the only reason to do that is if there’s belief they have a great shot to win with just a couple of tweaks. I don’t share that.

 

Next year is a transition year whether you re-sign Shesterkin or not, by the way.

[BrooksBurner]

6 hours ago, Phil said:

 

OK, but two of those guys, I think you'd agree, are unlikely to go. Zibanejad is unlikely to go, ever.

 

I just don't see the promise you do, even though I agree in principle with statements like "Lafreniere hasn't peaked." You're loading a ton of hope into breakouts for a lot of players who haven't shown a reason to believe that's coming.

They can hide Zibanejad. 8.5 is manageable down the lineup as cap inches towards 100+. Trouba will be out soon enough. Panarin too. 1 more season after this.

 

The org is fucked long term either way if Lafreniere doesn’t develop into a franchise forward. There’s different kinds of hope. Yours is just a different flavor than mine.

[Sharpshooter]

Is an 80 point player at best (most likely) a franchise forward? Yes, probably, but not an exciting one. Assuming he and Shesterkin are re-signed, I would think Panarin is definitely gone next year, no?