The biggest fantasy hockey injury of the young season landed on Saturday: Igor Shesterkin is out for the rest of 2026-27. For anyone who drafted him as a top-three goalie, the job now is not to mourn but to rebuild a goalie room in a week that matters. The Rangers play four times this week, starting Tuesday against Tampa Bay, and the man in their net is a 24-year-old who went unclaimed on waivers in training camp. Here is what changes, who to add, and which dominoes could fall elsewhere in the league.
What Happened
Shesterkin went down at 8:20 of the second period of Friday’s 3-1 loss in Washington when his right skate jammed into the post as he scrambled back into his crease. His leg bent under him, he could not put weight on it, and teammates helped him off. The Rangers announced the next day that his season is over; the club lists it as a lower-body injury, and AP reports it as the knee.
It is a brutal blow because he was rolling. Through five games he carried a 1.79 GAA and a .927 save percentage, and he even scored his first NHL goal into an empty net in a 5-1 win over Tampa Bay on Oct. 1. He is in the second year of an eight-year contract worth $11.5 million per season, the richest goalie deal in NHL history, so this is not a player New York can simply replace.
The depth chart behind him is thin. Backup Joonas Korpisalo is on injured reserve with his own lower-body injury and is expected to miss about four more weeks. Spencer Martin has been cleared from an injury in the AHL and is the likely call-up for backup duty.
Dylan Garand: Add Him, but Know What You Are Getting
Dylan Garand is the Rangers’ starter for at least the next month, and in leagues where he is still available he is the first add on the board. The case for him is straightforward:
- Volume. With Korpisalo out and Martin coming off an injury, Garand should get the bulk of the starts in a four-game week and well beyond it.
- Early results. He has allowed three goals in three appearances this season: a shutout in Detroit on Oct. 2 for his first career NHL shutout, one goal allowed in relief Friday, and two goals in Sunday’s 6-2 win over Vancouver in his first start as the No. 1.
- Team context. The Rangers are 5-2-0 and 4-0-0 at home. A team that wins games props up a goalie’s win total even when his ratios wobble.
Now the caution. Garand has six career NHL appearances, and every team in the league passed on him when the Rangers exposed him to waivers before the season. Small samples in net are notoriously loud, and his save percentage will come down from where it sits now. Treat him as a strong source of wins and starts with ratios closer to league average over time, not as a like-for-like Shesterkin replacement. If you are in a shallow league with better options on the wire, he is a fine second or third goalie rather than a cornerstone.
The other thing to watch: Korpisalo’s return around mid-November. If Garand is still winning when Korpisalo is healthy, the job is his to lose. If he has cooled off, New York could slide into a timeshare, which is the worst outcome for fantasy purposes.
What It Means for Rangers Skaters
The offense has carried its share so far. Alexis Lafrenière was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week after scoring five goals with seven points in three games, including a hat trick in a 5-2 win over the Islanders on Oct. 6. He leads the Rangers with five goals and eight points in seven games and should be rostered in every format while he is shooting this hot.
Sunday’s win over Vancouver also showed the depth that will matter more without an elite goalie bailing the team out. Will Cuylle and Tye Kartye each scored twice, Gabe Perreault had a goal and an assist, and Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller each added two assists. Zibanejad also had three assists in the Islanders game, so his playmaking role is secure. For deeper leagues, Cuylle is the name to watch, since the Rangers will likely need more scoring by committee with a less proven goalie behind them.
On the other side of the ledger, Rangers defensemen lose a little plus/minus cushion. Shesterkin erased mistakes; a 24-year-old with six career games is less likely to, so tread a bit more carefully with defenders who rely on plus/minus rather than points.
The Trade Market and the Dominoes
Because the injury is season-ending, the Rangers can use long-term injured reserve and recover close to Shesterkin’s full cap charge. That makes a trade for a veteran goalie realistic, and the names in circulation matter for fantasy beyond New York:
- Jordan Binnington (St. Louis). The most reported link. He is on an expiring contract, and the Blues have leaned on Joel Hofer. If Binnington moves, Hofer becomes St. Louis’ clear No. 1, so Hofer is a reasonable speculative stash right now.
- Philipp Grubauer (Seattle). Floated by multiple outlets as a cheaper option. A move would open more starts for whoever is behind him in Seattle.
- John Gibson (Detroit). Also on an expiring deal and mentioned as a fit if the Red Wings change course.
Any of these goalies landing in New York would push Garand back toward a backup role, so if you add Garand, keep an eye on the transaction wire. Connor Hellebuyck’s name has come up too, but his contract and acquisition cost make that a long shot.
Where Shesterkin Managers Should Look
If Garand is already gone in your league, or you want a steadier option, these are the goalies worth targeting through waivers or trade, in order of priority:
- Linus Ullmark, Ottawa. He is 5-0-0 after stopping 29 shots in Monday’s 4-1 win in New Jersey, the Senators’ third straight victory. He is the clear starter on a 5-1-0 team, and his rostership may not have caught up in casual leagues.
- Jake Oettinger, Dallas. Not a waiver add, but a trade target for anyone with skater depth to spare. He opened the season 2-1-1 with a 0.74 GAA, a .963 save percentage and two shutouts, earning Second Star of the Week honors. Dallas has also lost Matt Duchene for roughly three months after core-muscle surgery, which does not change Oettinger’s role.
- Jacob Fowler, Montreal. With Sam Montembeault out with a lower-body injury, Fowler made 30 saves in a 1-0 shootout win over Detroit on Saturday. He is a short-term streamer with upside rather than a locked-in starter, since Montembeault’s return could send him back to a split.
- Dylan Garand, New York. Still the best pure volume play of the bunch if he is available, for the reasons above.
The Bottom Line
Add Garand first if he is out there, but plan for regression and keep watching the Rangers’ trade activity. Stash Joel Hofer if your bench allows it, because a Binnington deal is the most likely way this injury reshapes another team’s crease. And if you are the manager who drafted Shesterkin, make a real offer for a proven starter now: four Rangers games this week will tell you a lot about Garand, but chasing goalies in November costs more than it does today.
See today's NHL lines on DFS Lines, each one set against the player's last ten games.