New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin will miss the remainder of the 2026-27 season, the team announced Saturday.
The 30-year-old left Friday's 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals in the second period after suffering a lower-body injury. He was helped off the ice after appearing to jam his right leg against the post in awkward fashion.
Igor Shesterkin suffers a lower-body injury after jamming his leg into the post. https://t.co/p5ZbQRWnHN
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 10, 2026
The 2022 Vezina winner went 3-1 in five starts to begin the season with a .927 save percentage and 1.79 goals-against average. He was replaced in Friday's game by 24-year-old Dylan Garand.
"It's awful," Rangers captain J.T. Miller told media after Friday's loss. "He's a pillar of this team. It stinks. ... We don't even know what's going on, but to see him leave the game is a shot to all of us, a shock to all of us.
"But at the same time, it means we got to step up to a man to try to get the job done, especially (Garand)."
The Rangers also announced that backup netminder Joonas Korpisalo will miss another four weeks with his own lower-body injury.
Shesterkin sustained a lower-body injury in January that forced him to miss a month of the 2025-26 season.
He's in the second year of an eight-year, $92-million contract signed in 2024. The $11.5-million average annual value (AAV) makes him the highest-paid goalie in NHL history.
Garand, a fourth-round pick in 2020, is in his second NHL season after playing in three games as a rookie and posting a .948 save percentage. In his first start this season, he stopped all 22 shots he faced to secure a 2-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 2.
