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The New York Rangers have quietly executed a roster maneuver designed to significantly expand their salary cap flexibility. According to a report from PuckPedia, the team has shifted goaltender Igor Shesterkin from standard long-term injured reserve to season-ending LTIR, a designation that carries major cap implications.
By placing Shesterkin on season-ending LTIR, the Rangers ensure he cannot return at any point during the 2026-27 campaign, whether in the regular season or the playoffs. Given that Shesterkin was already ruled out for the year after suffering a leg injury last month, the move carries minimal risk for the organization.
How the LTIR Mechanism Works
Under standard LTIR rules, the cap relief a team receives is limited to the lesser of a player's average annual value or his previous year's average salary—approximately $3.9MM this season. That figure is further reduced by the amount of regular cap space the team already holds. This was the initial approach New York took, which provided enough room to recall Dylan Garand at the time of the injury and facilitate other necessary roster moves.
When a player is transferred to season-ending LTIR, however, his full cap hit becomes available to the team, minus any pre-existing cap room or LTIR usage. This distinction is particularly significant given that Shesterkin carries the highest cap hit for a goaltender in NHL history at $11,567,857.
Following today's acquisition of Arvid Soderblom, the Rangers now have approximately $9MM in LTIR space at their disposal, per PuckPedia. The team did not technically need to make this move to complete the trade, as they already had nearly $3MM in regular LTIR room and Soderblom's contract consumed only about half of that amount.
Trade Speculation and Goaltending Depth
Naturally, this raises questions about whether general manager Chris Drury has additional moves planned on the trade front—perhaps targeting a higher-salaried player, whether in goal or at another position. Alternatively, the team may simply be creating flexibility now so it can act quickly if an opportunity arises.
In the meantime, Dylan Garand and Joonas Korpisalo—who recently returned from injured reserve himself—have held down the fort in Shesterkin's absence. Garand, who cleared waivers during training camp, ranks 11th in the league with a .910 save percentage, helping New York maintain third place in the Metropolitan Division at the quarter-mark of the season. The sustainability of that performance may be questioned, but for now, the Rangers' goaltending has remained relatively strong even without their franchise netminder.
Originally reported by yardbarker.