Rangers Placing Top Goalie On Injured Reserve

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The spiral just doesn’t seem to be stopping for the New York Rangers. Riding a 4-15-0 record into the new year, the Rangers may be losing one of their key faces due to injury.
The Rangers recalled goalie Louis Domingue from the American Hockey League, with no other official announcement following. According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, superstar goalie Igor Shesterkin will be moved to injured reserve with an upper-body injury.
Igor Shesterkin is going on IR with an upper-body injury, per source. https://t.co/kG6CVn4tMm
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) December 31, 2024
Shesterkin has picked up three of the Rangers’ four wins over their poor stretch, but recently made history by signing the most expensive goalie contract in the NHL.
On the same day that the Rangers traded their captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks, it was announced that Shesterkin agreed to an eight-year contract worth $11.5 million annually. At $92 million in total, the contract negotiations between the Rangers and Shesterkin were not wrapped up in just one meeting.
Usually a key name in the Vezina Trophy race every season, the Rangers star netminder hasn’t had an outstanding run in 2024-25. In 27 games played, he has an 11-15-1 record with a .906 save percentage and 3.10 goals against average.
The 2024-25 campaign isn’t hampering Shesterkin’s career numbers, though. In 240 career games, he has a 146-74-18 record with a .919 save percentage and 2.50 goals against average.
Domingue is a 32-year-old veteran netminder who has just one game under his belt with the Rangers. In one game during the 2023-24 season, Domingue picked up a win allowing just one goal on 26 shots against the Minnesota Wild.
In 143 career games played, Domingue has a 60-60-10 record with a .905 save percentage and 3.02 goals against average.

Nick Horwat is a contributor with Breakaway On SI. He was previously a credentialed reporter for The Hockey News covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A Pittsburgh native, Nick graduated from Point Park University and started reporting on news and sports with KDKA Radio and 93.7 The Fan. After hosting a Penguins talk radio show in college, he morphed the show into a podcast. The Tip of the Ice-Burgh Podcast has been a leading Penguins podcast since 2019. Follow him on Twitter @NickHorwat41.