EX-NHLer Mike Rupp bluntly calls out Rangers for not helping out their $92,000,000 superstar goalie

What a difference a year has made for the New York Rangers.

After winning the Presidents' Trophy in 2023-24, New York (79 points) is poised to miss the playoffs, currently eight points behind Montreal (87 points) for the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

General manager Chris Drury attempted to jolt his team, shaking up his roster throughout the year by shipping out several longtime Rangers, including former captain Jacob Trouba, 2019 second-overall pick Kaapo Kakko, and defenseman Ryan Lindgren. However, these changes have amounted to the same disappointing results and lack of consistency on the ice.

While their top players deserve most of the blame, superstar goaltender Igor Shesterkin is not one of them. Former NHLer, now analyst, Mike Rupp called out the Blueshirts for their poor play in front of the netminder. The NHL Network shared the video on X (formerly Twitter).

"The New York Rangers have one of the best goalies in the world, if not the, and they don't help him out. The details around the net blow my mind. And I'm watching that, thinking to myself, here we go again in a must-win game, and these things keep happening," Rupp said.

Igor Shesterkin entered the year as a pending UFA in the final season of a four-year, $22,670,000 contract signed in 2021. He extended long-term in New York with a massive eight-year, $92,000,000 deal in December, which, starting next season, makes him the highest-paid goalie in NHL history.

Igor Shesterkin has given it all he has to save the Rangers' season

There's only so much the New York Rangers can ask for from Igor Shesterkin.

In a season when the team in front of him has been no help, the 29-year-old has still managed a 25-28-5 record, with a 2.89 goals against average, a .903 save percentage, and five shutouts. While most goalies would consider this a great year, for Shesterkin, it's the worst statistical season of his six-year career.

If he's still around to do so, Chris Drury must continue to reshape the roster in front of Igor Shesterkin so that they don't waste the prime of his career. No matter how this season ends, it will be an interesting summer in the Big Apple.

Shesterkin and the Rangers' backs are against the wall when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. EST at Madison Square Garden.