The Buffalo Sabres placed Georgiev on unconditional waivers Sunday in order to terminate his contract. Hockey News Hub reported that Georgiev plans to sign with Spartak in the KHL.

.@AmerksHockey goaltender Alexandar Georgiev has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination.

— Amerks PR (@AmerksPR) November 23, 2025

Georgiev signed a one-year contract with the Sabres on Sept. 11, after goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen sustained a lower-body injury. However, Georgiev never played a regular-season game with the Sabres, and landed in the American Hockey League, where he started two games for Rochester. He lost each one, and posted a 3.57 goals-against average and .896 save percentage.

It was his first time in the minors since the 2018-19 season, when he started 11 games for Hartford, the Rangers’ AHL affiliate.

Perhaps Georgiev can resurrect his career in Russia and make his way back to the NHL. But there’s a chance he’s played his way out of the League for good, which is crazy to think considering Georgiev led the NHL in wins in 2022-23 (40) and 2023-24 (38) with the Colorado Avalanche.

Over those two seasons with the Avalanche, Georgiev won 78 games, tops in the NHL, and started 124 games, tied for second most, behind Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators. Georgiev appeared in the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, where he reunited with Igor Shesterkin, his former goaltending partner with the Rangers.

Hearing #LetsGoBuffalo goaltender Alexander Georgiev has signed with Spartak. #KHL pic.twitter.com/01YkLsxRKD

— Hockey News Hub (@HockeyNewsHub) November 22, 2025

But there were already cracks showing in his game. His save percentage dipped to .897 in 2023-24 and was under .900 in 11 Stanley Cup Playoff games that spring.

Things bottomed out for him last season. He struggled in the early going (8-7-0, 3.38 goals-against average, .875 save percentage) with the Avalanche, who then traded him to the last-place San Jose Sharks on Dec. 9 along with forward Nikolai Kovalenko and two draft picks for former New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, forward Givani Smith and a 2027 fifth-round pick.

Georgiev finished the season with an overall 15-26-4 record, 3.71 GAA and .875 save percentage – not exactly the best way to enter free agency.

Alexandar Georgiev shared Rangers net with Henrik Lundqvist, Igor Shesterkin, now headed to KHL

Georgie signed with the Rangers as an undrafted free agent before the 2017-18 season. He split his first two seasons between the NHL and AHL, sharing the net for part of the time on Broadway with Henrik Lundqvist.

In 2019-20, Georgiev played 34 games with the Rangers, after appearing in 33 the prior season. However, Shesterkin arrived in New York late in the 2019-20 campaign, and took the majority of the starts the next few seasons, including in 2021-22 when he won the Vezina Trophy as the top goalie in the NHL.

In the summer of 2022, the Rangers traded the unhappy Georgiev to the Avalanche for three mid-round draft picks. In 129 games with the Rangers, Georgiev was 58-48-11, with a 2.94 GAA, .908 save percentage, and eight shutouts.

For two years, Georgiev thrived as the No. 1 in the Mile High City. Then it all fell apart last season. And now he’s off to Russia, with no idea if he’ll ever play in the NHL again.

The 29-year-old signed with the Rangers as an undrafted free agent on July 17, 2017, and spent five seasons on Broadway before being traded to the Colorado Avalanche on July 7, 2022. He was 58-48-11 in 129 games (117 starts) during his time with the Rangers, with a 2.94 goals-against average, .908 save percentage and eight shutouts.

Georgiev broke into the NHL as Henrik Lundqvist’s understudy in 2017-18, and while in his mind he may have been preparing himself to eventually take over as the No. 1 goalie, it didn’t work out that way. Instead, Igor Shesterkin arrived in 2019-20 — and though the three goaltenders split time that season, Shesterkin grabbed the starting job after Lundqvist signed with the Washington Capitals before 2020-21 but was forced to retire due to a heart issue before playing a game.

The Buffalo Sabres have signed goaltender Alexandar Georgiev to a one-year contract worth $825,000. pic.twitter.com/Hlg2DG9uAd

— Buffalo Sabres PR (@SabresPR) September 11, 2025

Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender in 2021-22, and the Rangers traded Georgiev’s rights to the Avs for three mid-round draft picks.

Of course, Georgiev expressed his gratitude to the Rangers and the fans before leaving.

“I just wanted to take the moment to thank the NY Rangers organization for giving me a chance 5 years ago! That’s all I ever needed,” Georgiev said in a farewell note. “From getting the first NHL call up and reading the Letter to seeing this team become a contender and make a run at the cup. From playing in covid bubbles to having full stadiums with celebrities behind the bench, it’s really been a journey full of memories. 

“And even if that journey wasn’t always smooth, it’s been an honor putting on that Jersey. Thank you to all the staff at the arenas who made you feel like part of a family. And big THANK YOU to all the Rangers fans who are so passionate, it was incredible playing in front of you all.”

Related: 5 Rangers to watch at rookie camp, not named Gabe Perreault nor Brennan Othmann

Ex-Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev signs with Sabres

Colorado wasted no time signing the pending restricted free agent to a three-year deal with an average annual value of $3.4 million. He rewarded them by leading all NHL goaltenders in wins in 2022-23 (40, tied with Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins) and 2023-24 (38). He was also selected to play in the 2024 NHL All-Star Game.

Shesterkin’s 73 wins during those two seasons were five fewer than Georgiev; however, the Rangers goalie had a better GAA (2.53 to 2.77) and save percentage (.915 to .908) than his former partner in that span.

But things went south for Georgiev last season. He struggled in the early going (8-7-0, 3.38 GAA, .875 save percentage) and was traded to the last-place San Jose Sharks on Dec. 9 along with forward Nikolai Kovalenko and two draft picks for former New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, forward Givani Smith and a 2027 fifth-round pick.

Georgiev finished the season with a combined 15-26-4 record, a 3.71 goals-against average and .875 save percentage – not exactly the best way to enter free agency.

For his career, Georgiev has played 303 games (288 starts); he has a 151-108-26 record, a 2.99 GAA. .903 save percentage and 15 shutouts. He is also 9-10 with a 2.72 GAA and .906 save percentage in 20 Stanley Cup Playoff games (18 starts).

Georgiev is the second goaltender signed by the Sabres this offseason, following the addition of Alex Lyon on a two-year contract in July. The two veterans join an organizational depth chart that also includes returnees Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi, plus recently signed prospects Scott Ratzlaff and Topias Leinonen.

The native of Ruse, Bulgaria, represents Russia on the international stage and helped the Russians win the bronze medal at the 2019 World Championship.

Alexandar Georgiev and Jack Roslovic remain on the market, with options dwindling by the day.

This is a far cry from what Georgiev envisioned last summer, when he projected to be the top goalie on the UFA market in 2025. However, the 29-year-old cratered this past season. He began the season as the No. 1 for the Colorado Avalanche, a legit Stanley Cup contender, and finished it with the lowly San Jose Sharks, his numbers equally as poor for each team.

Georgiev, an NHL All-Star in 2024, combined to post a terrible 3.71 goals-against average and .875 save percentage in 49 games for those two teams this past season. He ranked 65th out of 66 goalies who played at least 15 games with an atrocious -17.9 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck. Only Sam Ersson of the Philadelphia Flyers was worse (-19.9).

After an outstanding first season with the Avalanche in 2022-23 (62 GP; 40-16-6, 2.53 GAA, .919 save percentage), Georgiev started to show some cracks in his game the following season with them (63 GP; 38-18-5, 3.10 GAA, .897 save percentage). But no one predicted what happened this past season. And now there’s a massive question mark about his future.

Roslovic scored 22 goals with the Carolina Hurricanes last season, tying his career high set in 2021-22 with the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, Roslovic played fewer than 14 minutes a night because he’s largely a liability defensively. Though his xGF was 50.28 percent last season, per Natural Stat Trick, the Hurricanes were outscored 55-46 with him on the ice 5v5 and were out-chanced in high-danger opportunities 205-173.

The 28-year-old appeared in nine of Carolina’s 15 postseason games and scored one goal. The year before, Roslovic had two goals in 16 playoff games with the Rangers, and ended the postseason on the fourth line.

In a sheltered role, though, Roslovic should be of interest to some teams out there. Remember, Roslovic didn’t land his one-year, $2.8 million contract with Carolina until July 4 last summer. So, this isn’t unchartered UFA territory for him.

Related: Scott Morrow ‘going to be really good player’ with Rangers, but there’s catch: NHL insider

Former Rangers still have options in NHL free agency

Let’s explore where Georgiev, who played with the Rangers from 2018-22, and Roslovic, a trade-deadline acquisition by the Blueshirts in 2024, may land this summer.

Alexandar Georgiev

Georgiev’s best bet appears to sign a one-year prove-it contract and re-enter the open market next summer. No one is handing him either a long-term nor big-money contract after his dismal season. But that doesn’t mean Igor Shesterkin’s former partner isn’t worth taking a shot on in a bounce-back situation.

The Edmonton Oilers missed out on John Gibson, who was traded to the Detroit Red Wings by the Anaheim Ducks, but could have interest in an upgrade over the Stuart Skinner-Calvin Pickard goalie tandem. They are right up against the salary cap, but if the Oilers could land Georgiev for the veteran’s minimum or perhaps as much as $1 million, who says no?

The Chicago Blackhawks have cap space, though they also have a No. 1 goalie to build around after acquiring Spencer Knight late last season. So, this would be a No. 2 role or 1A at best. Perhaps a better No. 2 role could be in Calgary with the Flames, who have Dustin Wolf entrenched as their top goalie, but have the room to add Georgiev as his backup, if interested. Last season’s backup, Dan Vladar, signed with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Complicating matters for Georgiev are the dearth of NHL opportunities — even as a backup — and the fact that veterans James Reimer and Ilya Samsonov are also still on the market.

Related: Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin named top Russian goalie in NHL by friend, local rival

Jack Roslovic

Roslovic should have more options this summer than Goergiev. In fact, Elliotte Friedman stated on a recent 32 Thoughts podcast that Roslovic could be a fit for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who would love to add a middle-six scoring forward and are roughly $5 million under the cap — more if they trade RFA Nicholas Robertson.

Friedman added that the Washington Capitals have shown some interest in Roslovic. The Sharks have plenty of cap space and could use a middle-six forward to support their growing young core and add some scoring depth. The Islanders, Nashville Predators and Montreal Canadiens also make some sense as potential fits for Roslovic, and one can’t rule out the Blackhawks.

The Rangers skate against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday, hoping to find their footing against another massively disappointing team. In fact, the Predators (8-17-6) are in far worse shape than the Rangers (15-14-1), even if New York has lost 10 of its past 13 games.

The Predators are tied for last in the NHL with 22 points and a .355 points percentage. They’re tied with the Chicago Blackhawks at the bottom of the League standings. Of course, the Rangers lost 2-1 to the Blackhawks last week, so they can take nothing for granted against the woeful Predators on Tuesday.

One things for sure, there’s going to be one really angry team after this game. Because each must believe that this is a winnable game, given the state of poor state of the Rangers and Predators.

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New York Rangers news

Here’s three intriguing things to watch for Tuesday when the Rangers face off against the Predators.

After their latest loss Sunday, defenseman Adam Fox was searching for answers as to why the Rangers cannot consistently sustain any offensive-zone pressure.

Coach Peter Laviolette shook up the forward line combinations against the St. Louis Blues in their most recent game, and even benched Kaapo Kakko. But those moves provided little spark for the Rangers in another forgettable 3-2 defeat, and Kakko made it clear after the morning skate that he wasn’t happy at being scratched.

NHL news

Our Tom Castro took a deep dive into the dip in Alexandar Georgiev’s play this season, and the former Rangers goalie’s hope that things will get better after he Colorado Avalanche traded him recently to the San Jose Sharks.

It appears that the Buffalo Sabres, losers of 10 straight games, are reluctant to make a trade to shake things up, even after a team heart-to-heart visit with owner Terry Pegula on Monday. The TSN panel breaks it down.

WATCH rugged Vancouver Canucks forward Kiefer Sherwood record his first NHL hat trick in their 3-1 win against the Avalanche.

The Florida Panthers won their Stanley Cup Final rematch with the Edmonton Oilers, a wild 6-5 victory at Rogers Place.

In that game, Oilers forward Zach Hyman took a deflected shot by teammate Evan Bouchard to the face in the second period and exited the ice quickly. Since he’s a hockey player, Hyman returned in the third period wearing a fishbowl face covering.

Yet, here we are just 29 months later and the Avalanche just moved on from Georgiev after things went sideways with his play. They traded him to the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 9, in part, for journeyman goalie Mackenzie Blackwood. That’s a major shift from when Colorado landed Georgiev the summer after winning the Stanley Cup, entrusting him with its run at a repeat.

The Rangers faced significant salary-cap challenges in the summer of 2022, when Georgiev became a restricted free agent. He would have required a qualifying offer of $2.65 million — way too much for him to play understudy to Igor Shesterkin. The Avalanche pounced, but he lasted only two full seasons in Colorado.

Related: 10 most expensive goalie contracts in NHL history after Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin signs massive deal

Being traded by Rangers appeared inevitable for Alexandar Georgiev

Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Rangers in July 2017 after an eye-opening development camp, Georgiev grew into a strong prospect that got him a look on Broadway as Henrik Lundqvist’s career began to wind down. Impressed with his competitiveness and abundance of confidence, the Rangers called him up from Hartford of the American Hockey League in February 2018, and he went on to a mostly impressive four-plus season run with them — 58-48-11 with a .908 save percentage.

Georgiev had eight shutouts with the Rangers and authored performances such as a 44-save performance in a 2-1 road win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 3, 2019, and another 44-save effort in a 2-0 road victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on March 20, 2022 — hinting at the possibility of an elite goaltender in the making.

Yet for all of his apparent talent, Georgiev’s timing with the Rangers proved not to be good, even with future Hall of Famer Lundqvist on the way out. The Blueshirts saw greatness in another young goalie of theirs, and that proved well-founded when Shesterkin arrived in January 2020. He quickly surpassed Georgiev on the depth chart.

Shesterkin went on to win the Vezina Trophy with a spectacular performance in 2021-22, his third season, and with the writing on the wall concerning Georgiev’s role in the Rangers organization, he made no secret of his desire to go elsewhere and establish himself as a No. 1 goalie. Georgiev felt that he had been wronged by what he viewed as the team’s pivot to Shesterkin, whose debut came nearly two years after Georgiev’s.

The relationship never became acrimonious, but it came to an organic end. The Avalanche were eager to take advantage, seeing a potential star who only needed the right opportunity — and, at least early on, would come relatively cheap. Colorado happily surrendered a pair of third-round draft picks and a fifth-rounder, then inked Georgiev to a three-year, $10.2 million contract.

His first season in Denver seemed to validate Colorado’s belief. With one of the League’s most star-studded teams in front of him, Georgiev was 40-16-6 with five shutouts, tying for the NHL lead in wins and finishing ninth with a .918 save percentage.

Problems, however, began to rear their head in 2023-24. Georgiev’s save percentage fell to .897 and he led the League in goals allowed with 183, while posting a goals saved above average mark of minus-11.9 — 90th in the NHL. That he again topped the League in victories with 38 was more a function of him leading all goalies in minutes played and benefiting from Colorado’s NHL-best goal total of 304, rather than his own proficiency. He also struggled in Colorado’s six-game second-round playoff loss to the Dallas Stars.

The slide accelerated this season, and Georgiev left the Avalanche with no other option as poor goaltending paralyzed a Colorado club built to compete for the Stanley Cup. Georgiev’s final game with the Avalanche was a 29-save victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 7, but that result served as little more than a trade value multiplier for a goalie who was 8-7-0 with an .874 save percentage and 3.38 goals-against average this season. He gave up at least four goals six times in his 18 games.

The inevitable trade occurred two days after the win against the Red Wings, with Colorado receiving Blackwood, depth forward Givani Smith and a 2027 fifth-round pick. The speed of Georgiev’s decline left the front office that had such high hopes for him in a state of disbelief.

“I think it shook us to the core with (Georgiev’s) start (to the season),” said Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland.

Trade to Sharks represents critical opportunity for Alexandar Georgiev

So it’s another fresh start for the former Rangers goalie, who also needed one back in 2022, a chance to establish himself in a situation that would give him a fair chance to seize the No. 1 job. The problem, of course, is that it would have been difficult to dream up a much better destination for Georgiev back then, when he joined the defending Stanley Cup champions who had a vacancy in net.

Will considerably less pressure for a rebuilding Sharks team allow Georgiev to reset and rediscover his game? It’s possible, but having a much less talented group in front of him will almost certainly mean more shots faced than he dealt with in Denver. San Jose is allowing 32.5 shots per game, highest in the NHL.

Georgiev’s first start with San Jose went well enough, when he made 17 saves in a 4-3 road win over the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 12.

“Very excited for it,” Georgiev said. “I don’t think too many guys want to be traded exactly, but it’s part of the business, and I feel it’s a great opportunity for me. … You know, nothing you can do. It’s the decision (the Avalanche) made. Felt like my game was trending in the right direction during the season. So that’s all you can control, your game and I’m excited for a chance here.

” … I don’t want to go too much into detail, of course, it’s a lot of factors (for the trade). I know I’m happy where my game was at the last 10 games or so.”

Georgiev will be an unrestricted free agent July 1, and rebuilding his value won’t be easy on a rebuilding team. Time will tell whether the affable Bulgaria-born goalie can do so. At the very least, he should get plenty of runway to try.

The Rangers, who often have trouble developing young skaters but bring goaltenders along better than anyone, should probably get some credit for identifying that Shesterkin, not Georgiev, was the future in net — even when the former was still competing in the Kontinental Hockey League as a 2014 fourth-round draft pick. That said, Georgiev’s up-and-down play was also easy to spot, and Shesterkin’s immediate brilliance and higher ceiling was readily identifiable to even the most casual fan.

It’s far too early to pass judgment on what the Rangers received for Georgiev. They took center Bryce McConnell-Barker with the 2022 third-round selection and left wing Maxim Barbashev in the fifth round that year. They moved up one spot from Colorado’s spot in the third round in 2023 to draft promising defenseman Drew Fortescue.

Almost nothing has gone right on Broadway this season, but Shesterkin’s recently-signed eight year, $92 million extension reflects his status as perhaps the top goalie in the game. He’s the Rangers best player, having emerged from an admittedly weighted competition in his favor three years ago to become a franchise cornerstone.

It’s highly unlikely that Georgiev will ever approach those heights. There’s still time, however, for him to fulfill at least some of the high-end promise he showed in flashes on Broadway.

Too snarky? I think not. Did you watch the Rangers get outplayed — worse, outworked — by the last-place Chicago Blackhawks on Monday at MSG? That 2-1 loss makes it eight defeats in their past 10 games and a 9-12-0 record in 21 games (a quarter of the season) since the 5-0-1 run to begin the 2024-25 season that feels as long ago as the Presidents’ Trophy-winning campaign in 2023-24.

We’ll be diving into different aspects of the latest loss and the bigger picture Tuesday and Wednesday here at Forever Blueshirts and on the Rink Rap podcast before the puck next drops at KeyBank Center against the Sabres, who, by the way, hammered the Rangers a month ago at MSG, 6-1.

That should be a reminder that this isn’t just a blip for the Rangers. It’s who they are. And it’s put them into crisis mode less than 30 games into the season, before reaching the New Year or even the holiday season.

Related:

New York Rangers news

Warning! Our three Rangers takeaways from the loss Monday does not contain any positives. Not saying there weren’t any — hello Will Cuylle — but the focus is all negative, as well it should be after such a lackluster effort.

After the morning skate, Igor Shesterkin was all smiles and said he was “so happy” following the birth of his daughter the day before, not to mention that contract extension he signed over the weekend making him the highest-paid goalie in NHL history. It was also interesting to hear Shesterkin discuss the outside “noise” that followed him during negotiations.

It feels pretty ironic that our Rangers week ahead story took the angle that their upcoming schedule affords them a chance to break out of a prolonged funk.

We wrote up an interesting nugget that the Rangers reportedly turned down the chance to acquire defenseman Cam Fowler in the Jacob Trouba trade with the Anaheim Ducks. Makes sense, though. Rangers were looking to shed salary to gain maneuverability under the cap. And Fowler makes $6.5 million annually through 2025-26.

NHL news

As for Trouba, the former Rangers captain made his Ducks debut in a 3-2 shootout loss up in Montreal to the Canadiens. He logged 22:35 TOI, led the Ducks with five hits, had one blocked shot and was minus-1, on ice for Kirby Dach’s tying goal in the second period.

Before the game, we posted a story about the value the Ducks see in adding Trouba to their roster.

Orange looks good on ya, Jacob Trouba! 🦆

📺: @SportsOnPrimeCA ➡️ https://t.co/93veFI9jrZ pic.twitter.com/XieQYzKAor

— NHL (@NHL) December 10, 2024

In case you missed it, Patrik Laine remained on fire for the Canadiens. He had a goal, assist and scored in the shootout. He has three goals in four games since returning from a knee injury.

Former Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev was traded by the Colorado Avalanche to the San Jose Sharks for former New Jersey Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood. We wrote up all the details here.

The Rangers next face the Sabres, who lost their seventh straight game (0-4-3) Monday. This time they blew a two-goal lead in the the third period and lost 6-5 to the Detroit Red Wings in a shootout.

Colorado packaged Georgiev, forward Nikolai Kovalenko, a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a 2026 second-round pick in 2026 draft to the Sharks. In return, they received Blackwood, forward Givani Smith and a fifth-round draft pick in the 2027 draft.

Each goaltender can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2025. Georgiev is in the final season of a three-year contract he signed after being traded to the Avalanche by the Rangers in July 2022; it has an average annual value of $3.4 million; Blackwood, who turned 28 on Monday, is finishing a two-year deal with an AAV of $2.35 million that he signed after being acquired from the Devils on June 27, 2023.

As part of the deal, Colorado will retain 14 percent of Georgiev’s contract, per the Sharks.

The Rangers traded Georgiev to Colorado after Igor Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy as the top goalie in the NHL in 2021-22. The native of Belarus led all NHL goalies in wins from 2022-24 with 78, tying Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins for the League lead with 40 victories in 2022-23 and leading the League by himself with 38 last season — two more than Shesterkin.

Georgiev piled up all those wins with a lot of help from his friends. The Avalanche have been one of the highest-scoring teams in the NHL for several years, and his 38 wins last season came despite finishing with a save percentage of .897, which was 41st in the NHL among goaltenders who played at least 25 games. He matched that .897 figure in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when Colorado defeated the Winnipeg Jets in a high-scoring first round but were eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the second.

Shesterkin’s 73 wins during the previous two seasons were five fewer than Georgiev; however, the Rangers goalie had a better goals-against average (2.53 to 2.77) and save percentage (.915 to .908) than his former partner in that span.

Related: Igor Shesterkin ‘ so happy’ with new baby, massive contract extension

Ex-Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev traded away by Avalanche

But Georgiev has regressed this season. He started 1-5-0 before winning six consecutive starts from Nov. 9-27, posting a .901 save percentage and 2.57 GAA during that span. But overall, he was 8-7-0 in 18 appearances (17 starts) with a 3.38 GAA and a save percentage of .874. Among the 50 goaltenders who’ve played in at least 10 games this season, his goals-against average is 44th and his save percentage is 47th. He allowed four or more goals in seven of his 18 games, including Dec. 3 in Buffalo against the Sabres, when he was torched for four in less than 12 minutes before being lifted; Colorado rallied for a 5-4 win.

Over the course of his NHL career, Georgiev has a 144-89-22 record in 272 games with a 2.89 GAA, .907 save percentage and 15 shutouts. He appeared in the NHL All-Star Game in 2024.

The 28-year-olkd played his first five NHL seasons with the Rangers. He initially teamed with Henrik Lundqvist and then was partners with Shesterkin, who just signed a record-breaking eight-year, $92 million contract.

Georgiev won’t have the same kind of firepower in front of him that he had in Colorado. The Avalanche are 16-13-0 and scored 95 goals (but allowed 103) in 29 games; San Jose is 10-15-5 with 82 goals scored (and 108 allowed) in 30 games after finishing last in the overall standings in 2023-24.

Blackwood, who’s been plagued with injuries throughout his career, has played better than his 6-9-3 record and 3.00 GAA would suggest. He saw more than 33 shots per 60 minutes with the Sharks, and his .911 save percentage is 12th among goaltenders who’ve played in 10 or more games. He has one shutout, a 1-0 victory at New Jersey on Nov. 10 in which he made 44 saves. He will be the sixth goaltender used by Colorado this season.

Georgiev piled up all those wins with a lot of help from his friends. The Avalanche are one of the highest-scoring teams in the NHL, and his 38 wins last season came despite finishing with a save percentage of .897, which was 41st in the League among all goaltenders who played at least 25 games. He matched that .897 figure in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when he was 6-5 and Colorado was eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the second round.

Shesterkin’s 73 wins during the past two seasons are five fewer than Georgiev; however, the Rangers goaltender had a better goals-against average (2.53 to 2.77) and save percentage (.915 to .908) in that span.

But this isn’t about a debate regarding the former teammates. This is about a steep decline in Georgiev’s play to begin this season, and the heavy criticism he faces just four starts into his free-agent campaign.

Related: Rangers record-setting contract offer rejected by Igor Shesterkin

Alexandar Georgiev’s slow start taking Avalanche with him

Simply, Georgiev’s game has fallen off a cliff – and the Avs have gone along with him.

Colorado fell to 0-4-0, its worst start since 1998-99, with a 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins in Denver on Wednesday night. Georgiev wasn’t awful, with a number of Grade A stops among his 21 saves (on 25 shots; there was one empty-net goal). But the four goals allowed and .833 save percentage actually improved his numbers for the season. His GAA “dropped” to 5.79 while his save percentage “improved” to .802 (17 goals allowed on 86 shots faced).

“It’s tough to say you played good when (you) give up four,” he said after the latest loss.

Georgiev’s season began with two disastrous starts. He allowed five goals on 16 shots before being pulled after two periods in an 8-4 season-opening loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 9. Then the 28-year-old was pulled again after surrendering three goals on nine shots against the Columbus Blue Jackets three nights later; backup Justin Annunen was tagged with the defeat in a 6-4 loss.

The former Rangers goalie was better against the New York Islanders on Monday, making 31 saves on 36 shots, but still allowed a couple of those “goals the goalie would like to have back” in a 6-2 loss that saw the Avalanche defense struggle all night. A couple of hours earlier, Shesterkin was sharp in a 31-save performance during the Rangers’ 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

“Probably not a great start, right?” coach Jared Bednar said after the loss to the Islanders. “But I thought that was our worst defensive game of the three (losses to start the season) by a mile, not even close. He made a lot of good saves. He did.

“I look at it and that was his best of the (first) three (games). He made some big saves. He looked more like himself tonight, which is a big step in the right direction.”

To be fair, the Avalanche are missing a lot of their key players. They lost forward Miles Wood after a hard hit Wednesday and were already missing five key players, including forwards Artturi Lehkonen and Jonathan Drouin, as well as top-pair defenseman Devon Toews.

Georgiev did keep his team in the game against the Bruins during a stretch in the second period when Boston dominated. He prevented the game from turning into a rout, giving Colorado a chance to come back – and offered hope that he’ll revert to the goalie who piled up wins during the previous two seasons and played in the 2024 NHL All-Star Game.

“Better for sure,” Bednar said. “Made a bunch of big saves. Moving in the right direction. Last game, then this game — just keep going.”

But Georgiev admitted afterward that the bottom line is how many pucks you keep out of the net.

“It’s a really tough situation,” he said. “Just doing the best we can every day, and I feel if everybody does that then we’ve got a good chance every night. I believe in the team. We are such a good team who can score a lot. We can play great defense. Just have to learn from it but not get discouraged and get to the next one with sharp brains.”

Georgiev, who can be an unrestricted free agent at the of this season, was 58-48-11 in 129 games (117 starts) with the Rangers over five seasons to begin his NHL career. He had a 2.94 GAA, .908 save percentage and eight shutouts with New York.

Certainly, Rangers general manager Chris Drury doesn’t need the reminder. Re-upping with Shesterkin is his No. 1 priority, especially now that offseason player moves are completed and the roster is by and large set to start the 2024-25 season.

The best-case scenario here has the two sides working out an agreement before the puck drops opening night in Pittsburgh on Oct. 9. That way, the Rangers have their most important player locked up for years to come, cost certainty for next offseason and can shift focus to contract extensions for upcoming restricted free agents Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller.

And it’d shut down the potential sideshow of Shesterkin, his teammates and coach Peter Laviolette having to answer questions about whether the contract situation is a distraction to the goalie and team during the season.

Though Shesterkin already seems to have a plan in place when it comes to contract questions.

Igor Shesterkin's response to contract questions with the Rangers: "I'm sorry, I don't speak English" 😂

pic.twitter.com/niZeUZEkwd

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) June 4, 2024

This is no easy negotiation. Not when you talk about the kind of money Shesterkin could make on his next deal.

It’s already been reported that Shesterkin seeks to become the highest-paid goalie in NHL history. That’d mean making more than Carey Price at $10.5 million annually. Many see Shesterkin aiming for more than $12 million per season.

And though Drury and Co. desperately want to keep the 2021-22 Vezina Trophy winner long term, cost is still a concern. Every dollar saved in negotiations is vital, what with Lafreniere and Miller ready for big paydays and the Rangers already up against the salary cap.

Logic says the Rangers and Shesterkin will work out an extension before the 28-year-old is a UFA next July 1. But since he still is unsigned past this season, let’s break down where Shesterkin fits in the potential goalie free-agent market next summer.

Related: Breaking down Benoit Allaire’s legendary influence on Rangers goalies for 2 decades

Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin heads Top-5 free-agent NHL goalies in 2025

Of the 15 most recognizable NHL goalies that can be unrestricted free agents in 2025, Shesterkin is right there at the top of the list. Marc-Andre Fleury is the most accomplished of the goalies on the list, but the 39-year-old is likely playing his final NHL season and, even if not, is no longer in Shesterkin’s league at this point of his storied career. Frederik Andersen will hit free agency at age 35 and is likely in the final stages of being a No. 1 goalie.

Then there’s a string of familiar, if not overly exciting options, like Jake Allen, David Rittich, Dan Vladar, Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek. Each will likely find a new home in a secondary role.

Ilya Samsonov is a big X-Factor in this group. Trying to rebuild his career after a tumultuous stretch with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he signed a one-year contract with the Vegas Golden Knights this summer looking to turn his fortunes around.

For now, Samsonov is just on the outside of a clear top-5 that Shesterkin is a part of. Let’s take a look.

Related: Igor Shesterkin shares keys to his postseason success, remains focused on winning Cup

5. Joey Daccord (Seattle Kraken)

Just a year ago, it would’ve been hard to imagine Joey Daccord being a top-5 option among free-agent goalies in 2025. But the career backup and minor leaguer finally got his shot last season with the Kraken and he flourished as the No. 1. Daccord appeared in 50 games and posted a 2.46 goals-against average, .916 save percentage and three shutouts. A late-bloomer, Daccord could be in line for a big payday next summer if he replicates those numbers and helps lead the Kraken back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

He will be 29 next season and doesn’t have a lot of mileage on him. But let’s see if Daccord can follow up his breakout season and show it wasn’t a fluke.

4. Adin Hill (Vegas Golden Knights)

The only goalie on this Top-5 to have won the Stanley Cup, Adin Hill needs to prove he can stay healthy and be more than a 1a option in a shared rotation if he hopes to cash in big-time. Hill has a lifetime 2.68 GAA and .910 save percentage, but never played more than the 35 games he appeared in with the Golden Knights last season.

Of course, he proved himself in the 2023 postseason, when he was 11-4 with a 2.17 GAA and .932 save percentage in 16 games, and was in the crease the night Vegas won the Cup. That means something.

Hill will be challenged for playing time by Samsonov, and perhaps even Akira Schmid, so this is fascinating contract year for the 28-year-old.

3. Alexandar Georgiev (Colorado Avalanche)

How’s this for symmetry? Shesterkin’s former goaltending partner with the Rangers, Alexandar Georgiev, also is a pending UFA on July 1. Like Shesterkin with the Rangers, there’s a chance the Avalanche look to sign an extension with Georgiev — their clear No. 1 goalie — before he reaches free agency.

Georgiev landing a major deal is still a bit in question, though. Even though he’s one of the best pending UFA goalies in 2025, without question, there are concerns about how his play dipped last season (3.02 GAA, .897 save percentage) and how he might be overused (NHL-high 125 games the past two seasons) in Colorado.

But he does play for an elite team. So, a strong season by Georgiev, along with a long playoff run, will likely land him a lucrative long-term deal somewhere.

2. Linus Ullmark (Ottawa Senators)

The only goalie in the conversation, along with Shesterkin, as being the best of this free-agent crop, is Linus Ullmark. The 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner excelled with the Boston Bruins the past three seasons, sharing the net with Jeremy Swayman. He had a ridiculous 1.89 GAA to go with his 40-6-1 record two seasons ago and was still very good (2.57 GAA, .915 save percentage) despite coming back down to earth last season.

Now, the 31-year-old is the clear-cut No. 1 with the Senators, a younger team that needs him to be a difference maker behind a defense that is not in the same league as Boston’s. There’ll be a ton of pressure on him, but he’s darn good. A solid season should land him a big deal, perhaps even with the Senators who’ve been searching for an elite goalie for years now.

1. Igor Shesterkin (New York Rangers)

As good as Ullmark is, there is no sexier name on this list than Shesterkin. He’s considered by many to be the best goalie in the NHL. And at worst, he’s in the conversation with players like Connor Hellebuyck, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Sergei Bobrovsky.

Shesterkin’s brilliant postseason track record, which includes leading the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final two of the past three seasons, was buoyed by his outstanding play this past spring. And his track record the past four regular seasons is just as impressive: ranking second only to Ullmark (.923) among goalies who’ve played at least 100 games with a .920 save percentage, and fourth with 125 wins.

He’s going to get paid.

After 20 years as goalie coach with the Rangers, Allaire stepped aside from those day-to-day duties, though he remains Director of Goaltending for the organization. He was officially replaced as goalie coach last week by Jeff Malcolm, who worked under Allaire in the same position with Hartford of the American Hockey League for the past several seasons.

While the 60-year-old will remain with the organization, Allaire will no longer be with the team every day, ending a nearly unprecedented two-decades run of success in the Big Apple.

Since joining the Rangers, Allaire’s been one of the most well-respected teachers of hockey’s most crucial position, earning the nickname “The Goalie Whisperer.” He helped shape the careers of Vezina Trophy winners Henrik Lundqvist and Igor Shesterkin, developed once unheralded Rangers backups into bonafide NHL starters (see: Cam Talbot, Antti Raanta, and Alexander Georgiev), and most recently helped revitalize the previously sputtering career of three-time Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Quick.

Related: Ranking where Rangers goalies stand among top NHL tandems

Benoit Allaire’s amazing 20-year run as ‘Goalie Whisperer’ with Rangers

Allaire’s incredible run of success will be a tough act for Malcolm to follow this season.

Let’s take a look at some of Allaire’s biggest hits since 2004.

Legend of Lundqvist

Lundqvist is the greatest goalie in Rangers history. And he played his entire NHL career with Allaire as his position coach.

He won the Vezina Trophy as top NHL goalie in 2011-12 and was a finalist four other times in his career, voted the runner-up in 2012-13. His No. 30 hangs in the rafters at Madison Square Garden — no Rangers player will ever wear it again.

Holding nearly every franchise goaltending record, Lundqvist’s line of work as the sixth winningest goalie in NHL history (459 wins) speaks for itself. A first-ballot Hockey Hall of Famer, you could make the argument that whoever had the pleasure of working alongside “The King” for 15 seasons in New York would benefit from his consistently elite play.

However, Lundqvist’s career began without much fanfare. Selected in the seventh round (No. 205 overall) in the 2000 NHL Draft, the Rangers took a chance on what they saw as untapped potential from the three-time Honken Trophy-winning goalie (Sweden’s Vezina equivalent) from Frolunda HC.

After arriving in New York in 2005, it was Allaire whom Lundqvist credited with tapping into that potential and creating the finished product that stood on the podium accepting election into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto on his first year of eligibility last November.

“There’s one coach I want to thank a little extra tonight, my goalie coach for 15 years, Benoit Allaire,” said Lundqvist during his Hall of Fame induction speech. “He’s incredible. Thinking back, every day, you inspired me in so many ways and you made it fun. The best coach and best friend you could ask for.”

Statistical supremacy

While one could attempt to make the Belichick-Brady style argument regarding whether coach or player deserves more credit when it comes to Lundqvist, Allaire’s body of work beyond his star pupil solidifies his own case as a Hockey Hall of Famer, and demonstrates his incomparable impact in Rangers history.

Since his first full season on the Blueshirts’ staff in 2005-06 (no season in 2004-05 due to lockout), the organization has enjoyed a consistent place among the League’s top goaltending units year after year.

In 20 seasons with Allaire, the Rangers have finished within the top-10 in the NHL for goals-against average 13 times, including in the top-5 nine times, and top-3 three times. This includes a second place finish as a team with a 2.49 GAA in 2021-22.

Similarly, the Blueshirts have finished top-10 in save percentage 13 times, including top-5 eight times, and top-3 twice — finishing first in Shesterkin’s Vezina winning year of 2021-22 (.921).

In today’s world of advanced stats and analytics, Allaire’s ability to get the most out of his goalies is even more evident.

According to MoneyPuck.com, which began tracking analytics in the 2008-09 season, Rangers goaltenders has been top-10 in the League for Goals-Against Above Expected 12 different times, in the top-5 seven times, and top-3 once as the second best in the NHL with a whopping 22.38 goals-against below expected in 2009-10.

These rankings are similar when looking at save percentage above expected on unblocked shots as well, where the Rangers were top-10 12 times, including top-5 eight times and top-3 once — coming in second in 2009-10 with a 0.65 percent above expected.

In fact, there have been just three seasons in Allaire’s entire tenure when the Rangers were sub-average when it comes to these categories, and it all came between 2017-18 and 2020-21 in the immediate aftermath of “The Letter,” a self-imposed rebuild era. 

Benoit’s backups

With seven different head coaches behind the bench since Allaire’s arrival in New York, his reliable approach and consistent impact has allowed him to withstand six prior coaching changes.

On the ice, many Rangers backups who worked with Allaire have gone on to have stable careers as starters elsewhere. Most notably is Cam Talbot, whose play in 2014-15 helped carry the Rangers through a potentially disastrous stretch without Lundqvist, who sustained a vascular injury after being hit in the neck with a shot.

Talbot’s 34-21-9 record in 36 games that season helped the Rangers win the Presidents’ Trophy and propelled him into a starting role with the Edmonton Oilers the following season. He has since gone on to play for the Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators, and most recently Los Angeles Kings. The two-time NHL All-Star who has 245 career wins and a lifetime .914 save percentage will play for the Detroit Red Wings this season.

Not bad for an undrafted free agent.

“If I didn’t sign with the Rangers out of college, I don’t know if I would have made it to the NHL,” Talbot told the Los Angeles Daily News in July 2023. “[Allaire] helped rebuild me, honed what skill I already had but also kind of took me back a little bit. I played a lot more like Jonathan Quick coming out of college than Henrik Lundqvist, so he kind of found that happy medium.”

Unheralded Steve Valiquette became a serviceable backup under Allaire’s guidance. Raanta was solid as a backup and then successfully took on a larger role with the Carolina Hurricanes. Georgiev was the first to replace Lundqvist in New York and is now the No. 1 for the Colorado Avalanche.

The common thread in their time with the Rangers? Benoit Allaire.

“[Allaire] deserves all the accolades,” Talbot told Forever Blueshirts at the 2024 NHl All-Star Game. “You see all the goalies he’s produced through the pipeline that spring-boarded to starting jobs around the NHL. It’s pretty crazy how many guys he’s been able to develop under Hank that moved on and became a No. 1 somewhere else.”

Related: Rangers goalies past, present shine on All-Star stage with Shesterkin, Talbot, Georgiev 

Quick revival

Allaire’s latest masterpiece was on display just this past season, as the previously dominant Quick was coming off a years-long slide from his All-Star form of the mid-2010s.

In 2022-23, the former Team USA Olympic starter finished at 16-15-6, with career lows in save percentage (.882) and goals-against average (3.41). In March 2023, he was shipped from his only NHL home in Los Angeles, and served third on the depth chart behind Adin Hill and Laurent Brossoit during the Vegas Golden Knights’ postseason run to the Stanley Cup.

With rumors swirling about the potential for retirement, the Milford, Connecticut, native joined his favorite childhood team on Broadway. With Allaire’s help, Quick turned back the clock to post an 18-6-2 record with a .911 save percentage and 2.62 GAA with the Blueshirts, his best showing in both categories since 2017-18. It earned him a one-year, $1.275 million contract extension before the 2023-24 campaign was even completed.

“[Allaire] does a great job of simplifying things so that they don’t come across in a confusing way,” Quick said in November. “It’s very clear-cut in what he wants to see out of his goalies in different situations. The communication’s been great.” 

Rise of The Czar

While Quick kept the Rangers afloat during Shesterkin’s mid-season struggles, the Blueshirts’ “Czar” eventually regained his form and finished 2023-24 at 36-17-2 with a respectable .913 save percentage and 2.58 GAA before elevating his game to backstop an incredible run to the Eastern Conference Final, when he was 10-6 with a .927 save percentage and 2.34 GAA during the postseason.

The turnaround in Shesterkin’s season came when he spent extra time working with Allaire around the NHL All-Star break. Shesterkin followed by playing his best and most consistent hockey the rest of the season.

Coincidence? Not likely.

Going from Lundqvist to Shesterkin shows just how spoiled the Rangers have been in goal over the past two decades, and Allaire has his fingerprints all over that success.

His ability to help goalies reach their potential and find their game during times of struggle is a major reason for the Blueshirts long-time prosperity at the position. His adaptability to different styles of goaltending is also key. As is his ever-present smile and cheerful approach to his job.

“[He’s helped me with] everything,” Shesterkin told The Athletic. “He can always find a way to help you. I still don’t speak English so good, so sometimes I don’t understand something. But he always finds a way to explain things to me, he always wants us to be having fun, smiling. When your mood is good, everything should be OK.”

That fun-loving style has given Rangers fans many reasons to smile as well over the years.

While Allaire may not desire the spotlight, largely staying behind the scenes to conduct his work, he has given numerous goaltenders the opportunity to steal the spotlight in their careers.

This can be traced back to even his pre-Rangers days, when Allaire helped turn Sean Burke, a Phoenix Coyotes goalie with a career .895 save percentage and 3.21 GAA over 500+ NHL games, into a Vezina Trophy finalist in consecutive seasons. Burke, himself, is now the Director of Goaltending for the Golden Knights.

It’s just part of Allaire’s lasting legacy. One that leaves a massive void and huge shoes for Malcolm to fill.