In-house options
New York could start by looking in-house, though options are limited. Jonathan Quick is 38, on an expiring contract and probably can’t be counted on as a true No. 1. He hasn’t been a starting-quality netminder since his resurgent 2021-22 campaign — the last time he started more than half of his team’s games.
Dylan Garand, 22, is generally considered the team’s top goaltending prospect. He was an elite Western Hockey Leagie goaltender, posting a 28-10-3 record with a .921 save percentage in his final season. Since signing with New York, however, his results with the Hartford Wolf Pack have been mixed. His regular-season numbers include a pedestrian .896 save percentage and a 33-33-9 record. His playoff numbers are better (10-7 with a .922 save percentage).
Elsewhere on the farm, New York invested later-round picks in two 6-foot-8 goalies. Talyn Boyko is a long-shot prospect who is playing well in the ECHL. His mountainous counterpart, Swede Hugo Ollas, is a former Merrimack College goalie who is struggling in the ECHL (.878 save percentage).
Free agency
Shesterkin is the crown jewel in free agency — if he makes it to the open market. He potentially could more than double his current $5,666,667 salary.
There are other intriguing names — Jake Allen (New Jersey), Frederik Andersen (Carolina) and Ilya Samsonov (Vegas), for example — but none of them would cost anywhere near Shesterkin. But that’s also because there simply isn’t a player in this current crop of potential free agents like Shesterkin. No one on this market has his pedigree of regular-season success, including a Vezina Trophy, All-Star selection, a Hart Trophy finalist selection and another top-five Vezina finish.
None of these players have his postseason success. Shesterkin has been New York’s best player en route to five playoff-series wins in three seasons, posting a .928 save percentage and a .750 quality-start percentage, according to Hockey-Reference (.530 is considered league average).
Trade
There are options, including former highly touted prospects who could be seeking new homes depending on how the rest of this season progresses.
Devon Levi is struggling again in Buffalo and is not even a starter.
Spencer Knight is another former first-round pick who has had on- and off-ice struggles. Florida gave Knight a three-year extension in anticipation of him taking the starter’s net from Sergei Bobrovsky, but that never materialized.
Filip Gustavsson in Minnesota was the subject of trade rumors. He’s off to a tremendous start and still has a year left on his deal after this one, but Minnesota may be hesitant to deal him and turn the net over to rising prospect Jesper Wallstedt after Wallstedt’s slow start this season in the AHL.
Then there are reclamation projects who could be had at a discount, such as John Gibson in Anaheim or Tristan Jarry in Pittsburgh — assuming a deal can be struck where the originating team eats some of the contract.
Ultimately, the scouting department in New York would need to make evaluations on these players, but the case for any of them isn’t all that compelling compared to the case for simply paying Shesterkin.
