The New York Rangers have made a fascinating move by calling up Igor Shesterkin from the AHL. This suggests they might be willing to trade Alexandar Georgiev. Here are the 3 teams who should be interested.
The New York Rangers have a wonderful problem right now. They have too many good goalies. The Rangers already had future Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist and strong backup Alexandar Georgiev on the roster. But now they’re adding top prospect Igor Shesterkin, as they called him up from the AHL.
Teams usually don’t stick with three goalies for that long. It simply doesn’t work because it’s so hard to find enough playing time for three goalies. Ergo, the Rangers might be looking to move someone.
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We can rule out Shesterkin because he’s their future. Crazier things have happened, but a Shesterkin trade would be especially crazy. They’ve invested too much in him to trade him right now.
Lundqvist would make sense, as he’s an aging goalie. Trading him would allow the Rangers to move on to a younger, less expensive tandem. However, Lundqvist has a no-trade clause and he has shown no inclination to waive it for anyone.
This leaves Georgiev as the odd man out. Trading him now would make a great deal of sense. His value is likely about as high as it’s going to be, though it’s remarkably hard to predict how goalies will do. That alone should motivate the Rangers to trade him sooner rather than later.
History tells us a trade likely won’t happen during the regular season. Teams are very reluctant to trade for a goalie during the season. However, these are special circumstances. The Rangers should be quite motivated to trade Georgiev because it would make their crease far less crowded. They have to figure out what they have in Shesterkin and as long as they have three goalies, it’s going to be hard for them to figure that out.
Also, there should be teams interested in Georgiev. He’s a darn good young goalie. Those are as good as good in today’s NHL. Even if a trade doesn’t happen during the season, it’s happening before the start of next season. Which teams should trade for him?