A promising start to the season for the New York Rangers had a wrench thrown into it with Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending lower-body injury. While the Blueshirts have gotten solid goaltending from 24-year-old Dylan Garand, there are plenty of intriguing options both in free agency and on the trade market if New York wants to bolster the goalie position.
First, let’s address the elephant in the room: the Rangers (probably) will not trade for Connor Hellebuyck. While Hellebuyck is unequivocally the only goalie available who could match Shesterkin, he is under contract until 2031. Even if New York planned on flipping him after the season, they would likely not recoup whatever value they’d send to the Winnipeg Jets in a hypothetical trade.
More likely is the rumored unretirement of Jonathan Quick, who currently holds the goalie development coach position with the Rangers. There have been conflicting reports on how possible this is. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan shared that “If the Rangers asked him to play, sources believe he could be a possibility,” While Mollie Walker of the New York Post stated that there is a “Strong belief that the Rangers are not considering Quick to come out of retirement.” Last season, Quick, who will turn 41 in January, struggled to a 6-17-2 record and a .891 save percentage.
There are a few options in free agency, but all of them would probably be better suited to fill a backup role rather than the starting job. Petr Mrazek remains unsigned after struggling heavily last year with the Anaheim Ducks, giving up over four goals per game in ten contests. Mrazek has played for six NHL teams since his debut in 2012-13, including parts of seven seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.
Matt Murray could be another option; the two-time Stanley Cup champion might be the most prestigious available goalie outside of Quick. Murray has been solid when he’s made his way onto the ice, but the issue has been keeping him there. Severe hip problems have limited him to just seven NHL games since the 2023-24 season. In five games with the Seattle Kraken last year, Murray rocked a .922 save percentage, but it remains to be seen whether he can sustain the grind of a full NHL season.
The three main goalies in trade rumors at the moment outside of Hellebuyck are John Gibson, Sam Montembault, and Jordan Binnington. All three men will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season and carry reasonable cap hits.
Binnington is the biggest name of the bunch, bringing both Stanley Cup and Four Nations face-off heroics to the table. On the flip side, though, he is one of the biggest question marks on the market. Struggling to the tune of an .873 save percentage last season and has let up 14 goals on 83 shots so far this season. The 2019 Cup Finals hero is now playing second fiddle to Joel Hofer in St. Louis, and the Blues could be looking to extract some value out of Binnington before he likely finds a new home in free agency.
Gibson is in his second year of holding down the net in Detroit and is coming off a, 901 save percentage in 57 games last season. While Gibson’s name has been thrown around plenty, the Red Wings may want to wait and see whether they have a playoff-caliber team before trading off assets. In addition, the Dylan Larkin saga is taking up plenty of bandwidth for Shawn Horcoff and the Detroit front office.
That leaves Montembault, who would likely take the least amount of capital to bring to New York. Not only did he struggle heavily last season with an .872 save percentage, but the Montreal Canadiens have a goaltender surplus. Jakub Dobes announced his arrival in last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Jacob Fowler is one of the most promising goaltending prospects in recent memory. While Fowler started the season with the Laval Rocket, Montembault’s recent lower-body injury has pressed Fowler into service, though, and if he continues to impress, Montembault will be the odd man out. His inconsistency makes him a risky bet, but he would probably cost the least out of the three trade candidates listed.
The Rangers have internal options as well, with Joonas Korpisalo being injured alongside Shesterkin. Dylan Garand has been thrust into the starting role and turned heads, rocking a .927 save percentage even with New York’s 7-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, Oct. 15. Spencer Martin is currently backing him up and has only seen game action in that Devils game. Martin has an .881 save percentage in 72 NHL games and struggled heavily with the Hartford Wolf Pack last season, giving up 3.51 goals per game.
Chris Drury has already enlisted some outside help; he signed 38-year-old veteran goaltender James Reimer to a professional tryout with the Wolf Pack. Reimer suited up for the Ottawa Senators last season in relief of Linus Ullmark and was serviceable, keeping the Senators in the playoff hunt with a 7-4-2 record, even shutting out the Vancouver Canucks in March. If Reimer still has some gas in the tank, none of the above options for the Rangers may matter, especially if Korpisalo is sharp when he returns from injury. But if any of Garand, Martin, Reimer, or Korpisalo falter, expect the Rangers to go shopping before the new year.
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