Rangers' Igor Shesterkin is reportedly turning down the largest goaltending contract in league history

Now that the Bruins have signed goaltender Jeremy Swayman to an eight-year, $66 million contract, we can turn all our attention to the next goaltender in need of a new contract, and that is New York Rangers backstopper Igor Shesterkin.

And it looks like it's increasing very interesting.

Shesterkin – a Vezina Trophy winner who helped the Rangers win a Presidents' Trophy – was known for seeking up to $12 million a year, the highest ever for a goaltender in the NHL. represented history.

However, ESPN's Kevin Weekes has reported – with assistance from Spongebob (seriously) – that the Rangers have offered Shesterkin an eight-year, $11 million contract, which is still the highest price paid for a goaltender in NHL history was paid.

And he said no.

Oh man, it seems crazy to turn this down… but Shesterkin is absolutely making the right decision.

I think the Rangers are in the same position as Steve Martin Planes, trains and automobiles when he tries to buy a guy a taxi for $50, and the guy says something along the lines of, “Someone who would pay $50 for a taxi would certainly pay $75.”

The Rangers probably just wanted to see if they could call Sheserkin and his camp's bluff, because if they were willing to put up $11 million, they would certainly gamble on $12 million.

The Rangers are expected to do this and Shesterkin has some leverage thanks to the Swayman deal. Sure, Shesterkin doesn't have a trophy to his name (yet), but he has more on his resume than Swayman. And with the salary cap expected to continue to rise, paying Shesterkin now isn't a bad idea as it should prevent them from having as much of a salary crisis in the coming years.

Shesterkin is in the final year of his current contract, which is worth $5,666,667 this season.