Rangers place Igor Shesterkin on season-ending injured reserve
The New York Rangers made a quiet but notable transaction on Sunday, as they have moved goaltender Igor Shesterkin from long-term injured reserve to season-ending injured reserve.
Shesterkin has been out of the lineup since the beginning of October due to a lower-body injury, one which was announced to keep him out for the rest of the season. The injury occurred during a 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on October 9th when a defensive scramble caused him to leave the net aggressively, and then as he was returning to the crease, he wiped out into the post.
The move is a notable one because, while Shesterkin was announced as out for the season with his injury, this officially confirms he will not play for the remainder of the 2026-27 season. When a player is placed on season-ending IR, they become ineligible for the regular season and the playoffs, so Shesterkin will be unable to play for the Rangers even if he somehow gets healthy while the team is still playing. However, it’s likely that New York knows that won’t be the case, hence making the move now.
What the move also does is increase the Rangers LTIR benefit for the season. Prior to the placement, New York only received an additional $3.9 million in salary cap space with Shesterkin on LTIR, but on season-ending IR, the Rangers now get his entire $11,567,857 cap hit available in cap space for the season. Since the current Rangers roster is only $1,792,292 over the salary cap with Shesterkin’s cap hit included, they have $10,542,857 in cap space to work with for the rest of the season.
The injury came after a stellar start to the season for Shesterkin, as he had a 3-1-0 record, a .927 save percentage and an at the time league-leading 6.82 5v5 goals saved above expected in five games. He even contributed offensively with a goal and an assist before the injury.
