"Could have gotten more": Elliotte Friedman drops truth bomb on 'ugly' $92M Igor Shesterkin contract with Rangers

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman shared his views on Igor Shesterkin’s $92 million contract during Monday's episode of the "32 Thoughts" podcast. After an offseason full of discussion on Shesterkin's contract, The New York Rangers finally inked him to a new eight-year contract on Saturday.

The Rangers have struggled lately, only winning two of their last nine games. They started the season strong at 12-4-1 but are now 14-11-1. Friedman said that the team announced the deal to shift the focus from their underwhelming performance.

"Let's distract people with something shiny." Friedman said (24:08). "And so that is what I think kind of happened here, is that things had picked up, and the Rangers were like, we know what we're about to do. We know it's going to be ugly. Let's make people happy. And they did. Shesterkin didn't play on Sunday, his wife was going into labor, but the Ranger fans were very excited that he has signed."

Shesterkin’s eight-year deal averages $11.5 million annually. Friedman suggested that he could have earned more.

"You know, someone said he signed for 11.5, I said he left money on the table," Friedman said. "And people were like, how much did you think he was going to get in the open market? It's not only about the open market. I still think he could have gotten more than 11.5 from the Rangers."

Shesterkin is 9-9-1 this season, with a 2.99 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage, which are below his career numbers. He has a career record of 144-68-18 with a goals-against average of 2.47 and a save percentage of .920 with 16 shutouts.

Rangers' GM Chris Drury on Igor Shesterkin's contract

Igor Shesterkin's contract reflects the team’s belief in their 2021-22 Vezina Trophy winner as their long-term goalie. Rangers' general manager Chris Drury shared his excitement about signing him.

“Well, 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,” Drury said on Sunday, via NHL.com, “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’re excited to be able to sign him up for that."

"We had no interest in seeing where the market went come July 1. As a lot of our players say, he’s one of our best players night in and night out and we’re thrilled he’s our goalie."

The Rangers see Shesterkin as an essential piece to their future success. Fans will now expect him to deliver performances matching his high salary.