TORONTO — Cam Talbot was in camp in the fall of 2014, preparing for his second season as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup after turning heads as a 26-year-old rookie the previous season. .
A few months earlier, the Rangers drafted Russian goaltender Igor Shesterkin in the fourth round, 118th overall.
“I don’t think his name came up at the time,” Talbot said Thursday at All-Star Media Day here. “I don’t remember hearing about him at all.”
It would be another five years before Shesterkin would abandon his native Russia and the KHL for North America. Shesterkin’s name is now well known, as he represents the Rangers at this midseason extravaganza for the second year in a row.
cheers!
(Well, not as much as No. 31 would have liked so far this season.)
“When I was in Russia before I came here, I always watched the NHL,” Shesterkin said. “Playing even one game in the NHL is something to be proud of, so I know how special it is to be a part of this game.
“It’s an honor for me.”
If Lundqvist didn’t exist, a panorama of Rangers goaltenders from the past decade would be on display here this weekend.
Talbot, an All-Star for the first time at the age of 36, picked up the shield during the 2014-15 season when King was shot in the throat and was sidelined for seven weeks.
There’s Shesterkin, who replaced Lundqvist at No. 1 almost immediately after being called up by Hartford in the first week of January 2020.
And then there’s netminder Alex Georgiev. He appears to have been caught between Lundqvist and Shesterkin before being sent to Colorado after the 2021-22 season after a very unfortunate few seasons as a backup.
You know the most interesting thing about this? None of the three have had particularly stellar seasons. Talbot had a great first three months, but went into the hiatus with a 10-game winless streak (0-7-3) and has just 14 wins in 31 starts.
Shesterkin, you know what a struggle this was. And when playing for the high-powered Avalanche, Georgiev’s save percentage of .898 is actually .001 less than Shesterkin’s number, if you can believe it.
But they’re All-Stars, just like Lundqvist was a five-time selection and Eddie Giacomin was a six-time selection. Did you know when All-Star goaltenders visited New York? It was in 1971 and 1973 that Giacomin and Gilles Villemur represented the Eastern Conference in two All-Star Games. .
Talbot went 33-15-5 with a .931 save percentage and a 2.00 GAA in two seasons on Broadway, establishing himself as one of Lundqvist’s best reserves. But the Rangers moved him after losing to Tampa Bay in the conference finals instead of returning him to No. 2, who went 16-4-3 in Swede’s absence.
“I could have been content as Hank’s backup, but as a competitor you always want the opportunity to be number one, and that’s what I wanted. I wanted my own net.” said Talbot. “It would be great if that happened, but even if it didn’t, I would have no problem going back to the Rangers and learning under Hank and Hank for another year.” [coach] Benny Allaire.
“Those two months [where Lundqvist was injured] It definitely accelerated my career. I signed for another year to continue to be his backup, but obviously the team saw that I could play more than once every few weeks and could carry the expectations. ”
Then-GM Glenn Sather probably overreached in the draft while holding the Talbot auction. Buffalo was in, Calgary was in, Florida was in. Then they were eliminated, and Talbot ended up going to Edmonton in exchange for second- and third-rounders. Neither was a substantive nomination.
Seven years later, Georgiev is no longer the object of affection that Talbot was when he was on the market. In fact, GM Chris Drury is looking to transfer his depressed assets after a difficult season in which Georgiev felt he was being unfairly ignored while Shesterkin was given the keys to the kingdom. It was.
“Both Igor and I are professionals and even though it was a situation like that, we have a good relationship,” Georgiev said. “I didn’t just think I could be No. 1; Already knew He could be No. 1 in the NHL. All that was left was to seize the opportunity.
“I don’t think I got that opportunity at Rangers. It was mentally tough and it affected my game. But I’m only looking to the future, not the past.”
Drury was able to acquire two third-rounders from the Avalanche and a fifth, an undrafted Bulgarian netminder, and used one of his picks to move up and take the BC defense at No. 90 overall last season. They were able to draft Drew Fortescue.
The Blueshirts have a Royal goaltending tree featuring Davey Carr, Chuck Rayner, Sugar Jim Henry, Gump Worsley, Giacomin, John Vanbiesbrouck, Mike Richter and Lundqvist .
Talbot, Georgiev and Shesterkin will be competing this weekend.
