NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Rangers reached a deal with Igor Shesterkin on Friday that will make him the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history, according to multiple reports.
Shesterkin, who turns 29 on Dec. 30, agreed to an eight-year extension worth a reported $92 million, for an average annual value of $11.5 million. That tops Carey Price’s eight-year, $84 million deal he signed with Montreal in 2017 as the richest for a goalie.
The Rangers did not announce the contract, and Shesterkin declined to comment on it after the Rangers' 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.
“I cannot say anything else," Shesterkin said. "Maybe we can talk about it tomorrow.”
The successor to Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist with New York, Shesterkin has been one of the best at hockey’s most important position since debuting in 2020. He has a 144-68-18 record with a 2.47 goals-against average and .920 save percentage. The Moscow native is 9-9-1 with a 2.99 GAA and .908 save percentage this season.
Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie in 2021-22 and he has backstopped the Rangers to the Eastern Conference final twice.
Signing Shesterkin long term checks off the most important job left for general manager Chris Drury after trading defenseman Jacob Trouba to Anaheim earlier Thursday. Drury also signed budding star forward Alexis Lafrenière to a seven-year extension earlier this season, and a new contract for linchpin defenseman Ryan Lindgren could be next.
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New York Rangers' Igor Shesterkin (31) blocks a shot by Philadelphia Flyers' Tyson Foerster (71) as Ryan Lindgren (55)looks on during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) watches Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) as he protects the net during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin passes to a teammate as Pittsburgh Penguins' Cody Glass (19) closes in during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, the Health Ministry said early Thursday. The Israeli military said it had targeted a group of militants.
The strike hit a car outside the Al-Awda Hospital in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in the central part of the territory. The journalists were working for the local Quds News Network.
The military said it targeted a group of fighters from Islamic Jihad, a militant group allied with Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023 attack into southern Israel ignited the war. Associated Press footage showed the incinerated shell of a van, with press markings still visible on the back doors.
Several young men attended the funeral outside the hospital, many of them sobbing. The bodies were all wrapped in white shrouds, with blue press vests draped over them.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says over 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the start of the war. Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military embeds.
Israel has banned the pan-Arab Al Jazeera network and accused six of its Gaza reporters of being militants. The Qatar-based broadcaster denies the allegations and accuses Israel of trying to silence its war coverage, which has focused heavily on civilian casualties from Israeli military operations.
Separately, the military said a 35-year-old reserve soldier was killed during fighting in central Gaza early Thursday. A total of 389 soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground operation over a year ago.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border in a surprise attack on nearby army bases and farming communities. They killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel's air and ground offensive has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry. It says more than half the fatalities have been women and children but does not say how many of the dead were fighters. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The offensive has caused widespread destruction and driven around 90% of the population of 2.3 million from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are packed into squalid tent camps along the coast, with little protection from the cold, wet winter.
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
A relative mourns over the body of one of the five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Mourners react as they carry the bodies of five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A relative mourns over the body of one of the five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Relatives and friends mourn over the bodies of five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians, mostly journalists, gather around the bodies of five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A woman reacts during the funeral of five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
