Rangers star has cheeky take on retool letter: ‘I don’t speak English’
At least Igor Shesterkin’s maintained his sense of humor during this trying New York Rangers season.
Speaking with reporters after backstopping a 3-2 shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the star goalie was asked about his reaction to general manager Chris Drury’s letter to the Rangers Faithful in January, detailing plans to retool and likely trade away some long-time fan favorites. Since Shesterkin was on IR at the time of the “The Letter,” and only recently returned from a lower-body injury, this was the first time he addressed the big topic.
“I just focus on my game. I just play a game at a time, and that’s it,” Shesterkin said Saturday. “Honestly, I didn’t read The Letter because I don’t speak English.”
The Russian goaltender kept a straight face delivering the punchline. But that he spoke English when answering the question was what made it so funny.
Clearly, the 30-year-old wanted no part of sharing his feelings about the retool. Especially after Adam Fox’s recent comments on the matter created a stir earlier in the week. And that’s with United States-born defenseman speaking his native language.
As for how the highest-paid goalie in the NHL is approaching the rest of this season, Shesterkin stayed on script.
“We spoke a little bit, just try to be focused on the game. We don’t think about [losing]. We always focus on [trying to] win, and we try our best to reach it,” he stated.
The Rangers (23-29-7) remain last in the Eastern Conference, but collected three of four possible points since Shesterkin returned after the Olympic break. They blew a two-goal lead and lost to the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in overtime Thursday; and then rebounded from a 2-0 deficit to knock off the Penguins on Saturday.
The 2021-22 Vezina Trophy winner stopped 52 of 57 shots — and all three in the shootout Saturday — in his first two games back. He missed 13 games after sustaining his injury Jan. 5. The Rangers lost 11 of 13 games without him in the lineup, and traded Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings before the break to kickstart their retool.
“He’s one of the best players in the League, so, of course it’s pretty tough for us to lose a player of that caliber, Shesterkin said about his countryman and friend. “I hope he enjoy the trade and wish him all the best. I think it’s time for young players to develop right now.”
