The Rangers lost Igor Shesterkin for the season, and within a day the fix being floated is a goaltender who's already retired. That should bother you more than the injury itself did.
On Oct. 9 in Washington, Shesterkin's right skate jammed into the post as he glided across his crease, his leg bent awkwardly under him. Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson had to help him off the ice; he couldn't put weight on the leg. On Oct. 10 the team ruled him out for the year with a right knee injury. The timing is cruel. The 30-year-old was in one of the best stretches of his career, a 3-1 start with a .927 save percentage and a 1.79 goals-against across five appearances, and he'd even scored his first NHL goal, an empty-netter against Tampa Bay on Oct. 1.
Now the Rangers are reportedly expected to explore goalie help, and Jonathan Quick, perfectly happy in retirement, is being floated as an option if they ask him to strap the pads back on.
Don't do it.
The romance is obvious. A respected veteran called out of retirement to backstop a playoff push is the kind of story the Garden would eat up by November. For a week, maybe even a hot month, it might work. But you're not building a bridge to March with a man who stopped playing and would now be starting cold against the deepest, fastest league on the planet. Over an 82-game haul, a retired goaltender pulled back into the net is the least reliable plan on the board. Everyone involved knows it. That's why the team is only floating it as an idea for now, nothing more.
The harder move is also the better one: spend assets on a younger, active goaltender who's already playing NHL hockey this month. The market isn't generous right now, and some of the obvious names are complicated or hurt, but a genuine Vezina-caliber starter in Connor Hellebuyck has openly requested out of Winnipeg. If you're a contender who just lost the best goalie in the world for a season, that's the phone call you make. You don't answer a crisis by asking a retired goaltender to un-retire.
The blame for this lands on the front office. The reason un-retiring Quick is even being whispered is that the depth behind Shesterkin is paper-thin. This is roster construction, and roster construction is the front office's job. You can't plan for Shesterkin blowing out a knee, but you can plan for the simple reality that goalies get hurt, and the Rangers didn't. One injury shouldn't turn a Cup hopeful into a team mulling comebacks from retirement.
Bring Quick back and you've admitted the cupboard was empty. Trade for a real goalie and you've admitted it too, just with a chance to actually fix it. Pick the one that gives this season a pulse.
