$92,000,000 Rangers goalie gets 100% real about team's troubled season -"Couldn't handle it"

The New York Rangers are still trying to process the fact that their season is over, much earlier than they could have ever expected.

After Eastern Conference Finals appearances in two of the previous three seasons, the Rangers fell apart in 2024-25, missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign. They finished six points behind the Montreal Canadiens (91 points) for the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

It was an extremely disappointing year in New York, as the team fell well short of its championship aspirations. Superstar goaltender Igor Shesterkin demonstrated his frustrations with the group throughout the season, and on Monday, he began to dissect what he felt went wrong as the team had its exit day interviews.

Rangers reporter Vince Z. Mercogliano shared his comments on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday morning.

"In my mind, something broke during the season and went the other way. We couldn't handle it," Shesterkin said.

He's likely referring to the rotten 3-11-0 stretch through late November and into December that caused their season to spiral out of control.

Igor Shesterkin just played out the balance of his four-year, $22,670,000 contract signed with the Rangers in 2021. His eight-year, $92,000,000 extension to remain in New York and become the highest-paid goalie in the NHL will kick in to start the 2025-26 campaign.

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The Rangers put a lot on Igor Shesterkin's plate this season

Igor Shesterkin shouldered a heavy workload for the New York Rangers in 2024-25.

The 29-year-old started a career-high 61 games, which was the fourth most of any goaltender in the league this season. He managed a 27-29-5 record, with a 2.86 goals-against average, a .905 save percentage, and six shutouts in those 61 starts.

This is Igor Shesterkin's first time missing the postseason since truly taking over as the Blueshirts' number one goalie in 2021-22. He'll have plenty of extra motivation heading into 2025-26 with the sour taste of watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs from home this spring.

It will be up to general manager Chris Drury to improve his roster in front of Shesterkin to avoid wasting another prime season of the all-world netminder's career. We've already seen head coach Peter Laviolette relieved of his duties, in what could be a precursor to a busy offseason full of changes in the Big Apple.