Lafreniere's New Contract Extension Doesn't Affect Rangers' Cap Situation With Shesterkin

New York Rangers young star Alexis Lafreniere secured his future as a long-term Blueshirt this week by signing a seven-year, $52.15-million contract extension. The new deal, which carries an average annual value of $7.45 million, is a major reward for the 23-year-old left winger, who had a breakout year last season with 28 goals and 57 points in 82 games. But the big question is, how will Lafreniere’s new contract – which kicks in next season – affect the Rangers’ negotiations with superstar goalie Igor Shesterkin?

From this writer’s perspective, Lafreniere’s new deal won’t impact the Shesterkin negotiations one iota. Indeed, if you examine the Rangers’ macro salary cap picture, you’ll see that GM Chris Drury has assembled a lineup that can handle Lafreniere’s salary bump as well as an extension for Shesterkin.

As it stands, the Rangers have a cap hit in 2025-26 of $66.51 million, with 12 players under contract (all financial data via Puck Pedia). They’ve also got RFAs next summer including defenseman K’Andre Miller and Kaapo Kakko, so some of their cap space will go to those two.

Let’s say those two combine for a cap hit in the range of $8-9 million. That gives the Blueshirts a cap hit of $75 million or so. And with the cap ceiling rising to approximately $93-million next year, that means Drury will have about $18-million to play with to get Shesterkin’s signature on an extension and fill out the rest of the roster (including the cost for a solid backup netminder, help on the blueline and at the bottom of the Blueshirts’ forward lines). You can see how things are going to be tight for Drury, but that’s not going to mean he walks away from Shesterkin. If he did, he’d be pilloried for the rest of time.

Shesterkin has much of the leverage in his current contract predicament, and for that reason, we don’t see him accepting anything less than $12-12.5-million per year on an eight-season extension. This Rangers team is built to win now, and they’re built around Shesterkin, so it’s highly-unlikely Drury takes a hard line with Shesterkin as he tries to set a new bar for goalie salaries.

Shesterkin has every right to ask for as much as he thinks he deserves, and it’s Drury’s right to turn him down. But honestly, how do you think Drury could justify parting ways with Shesterkin? For the difference of $1-million here or there, it’s not like the Rangers are being held up by their top goalie and arguably their most valuable player.

It’s not Shesterkin’s fault that other key goalies are settling for $8-9-million per year. He’s negotiating in good faith, and while his best chance at a Cup is going to come with the Blueshirts, Shesterkin still could simply focus on the financial side of things and leave for the highest bidder next summer. And again, that would be a horrendous development for Drury and his team.

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Lafreniere’s deal ultimately does not affect what Shesterkin winds up getting in his next contract. Drury did well to lock up Lafreniere to a team-friendly extension, but the biggest challenge was always going to be Shesterkin. The Rangers cannot afford to let Shesterkin leave, and that’s why you should expect others – including potentially Kakko – to be moved instead of Shesterkin. He’s got the Blueshirts where he wants them in contract negotiations, and Sheskterkin is going to get a handsome raise and a deal that has the maximum amount of years on it because of his negotiating leverage.

The Rangers are one of the deepest teams in the league, but they cannot allow Shesterkin to leave. Drury isn’t going to turn to any other goalie in the game to be the Rangers’ first option between the pipes, and that’s why Shesterkin holds all the power in negotiations. Shesterkin is Option A for the Blueshirts, and there’s really no Option B for them. He's going to get paid big-time, and the task Drury faces is to shape his lineup around Shesterkin, not in spite of Shesterkin.