Rangers make it official, sign goalie Igor Shesterkin to long-term deal

The day after trading captain Jacob Trouba, the Rangers announced Saturday that they have agreed with goaltender Igor Shesterkin on an eight-year contract extension that reports say is worth a total of $92 million.

That average annual value of $11.5 million makes Shesterkin, who would have been an unrestricted free agent on July 1, the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history, eclipsing the $10.5 million average Carey Price got from the Montreal Canadiens.

However, it leaves Shesterkin as the second-highest-paid player in Rangers history behind teammate Artemi Panarin. Panarin’s seven-year deal, signed in 2019, pays him an average of $11.642 million.

“Clearly, with the contract we just signed him to, it speaks volumes of what I think of him as a goalie, as a player, as a person,’’ general manager Chris Drury said of Shesterkin on a hastily arranged Zoom call late Saturday afternoon. “We’re lucky to have him. We’re excited that he wanted to make the commitment to be with the Rangers for eight years . . . We had no interest in seeing where the market went come July 1.’’

The announcement of the deal came a day after ESPN broke the story that an agreement had been reached. That story came out perhaps 90 minutes after the trade of Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks was announced. Drury said there was no coordinated plan to have the events take place so close together, nor was there a requirement that the Trouba trade needed to be done before a deal with Shesterkin could be agreed to.

“They just kind of happened to come together at the same time in the same week,’’ he said. “There was no effort to have it done together or have us move on from Jacob, and then now we could sign Shesty. It just happened to work out that way.’’

Shesterkin, who is 9-9-1 with one shutout, a 2.99 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage after Friday night’s 4-2 win over Pittsburgh, declined to talk about the reports of his contract agreement after that game, saying “maybe tomorrow.’’ But he didn’t speak with reporters at practice Saturday.

Coach Peter Laviolette also declined to comment on the deal Friday night, saying, “I’m not there yet.’’ Asked at practice Saturday if he was ready to talk about Shesterkin, he said, “He played a really good game for us yesterday.’’

Shesterkin, who will be 29 later this month, is 144-68-18 with a 2.47 GAA and a .920 save percentage in his career. He won the Vezina Trophy in 2022 as the league’s top goalie and has appeared in 44 postseason games, posting a 2.41 GAA and .928 save percentage.

New guy arrives

Urho Vaakanainen, a defenseman acquired from Anaheim on Friday, took the redeye to New York and was on the ice for the Rangers’ optional practice. As he is on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, he skated in a green no-contact jersey. He isn’t sure of his timeline to play again but said he can shoot and pass the puck, and so he thinks he’s close.

As for his reaction to the trade, he said he was shocked at first but gradually became excited about joining the Rangers. “My first thought was, like, ‘Awesome!’ ’’ he said. “The Rangers are an Original Six team . . . I’m super-excited to be here.’’

Blue notes

Rookie forward Brett Berard, who has missed two games with an upper-body injury after taking a hit from Kirby Dach in a Nov. 30 game against Montreal, practiced in a regular jersey after wearing a non-contact jersey all week. Laviolette wouldn’t say if he is a lineup option for Sunday . . . Saturday was Laviolette’s 60th birthday . . . D Matthew Robertson, who was called up from AHL Hartford on Friday afternoon to serve as insurance in case of a last-minute injury before Friday’s game, was returned to Hartford.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.