The front office of the New York Rangers has done a great job of upgrading the talent on the team’s roster this summer.
After finishing in last place in the Eastern Conference this past season, something had to be done to shake the team up. There is no doubt the talent level has improved, as there are several strong building blocks on the roster.
The two biggest additions were Pavel Dorofeyev, acquired in a trade from the Vegas Golden Knights, and Alberts Smits, the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. They join other star-level producers such as defenseman Adam Fox and goaltender Igor Shesterkin.
Both players battled injuries last season, which contributed to the team’s struggles. When on the ice, they helped the Rangers immensely, and this upcoming season, Shesterkin is predicted to perform at a high level.
Such a high level that editor-in-chief Bill Price, senior director of editorial Shawn P. Roarke and senior writer Dan Rosen of NHL.com have predicted the star goaltender will make the World Team roster for the 2027 NHL All-Star Game.
This season’s All-Star Game is going to feature a five-team round-robin featuring teams from Canada, Sweden, Finland, the United States and a World Team of other countries. Shesterkin is predicted to represent the World squad with a fellow Russian, Andrei Vasilevskiy, of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Joining the New York star and Vasilevskiy on the World Team are Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, Nico Hischier of the New Jersey Devils, Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild, Nikita Kucherov of the Lightning, Martin Necas of the Colorado Avalanche, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, former Rangers star Artemi Panarin, who is now with the Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak and Juraj Slafkovsky of the Montreal Canadiens.
Should Shesterkin get selected, it would be the third time in his career that he would be named an All-Star. He also made the team in 2023 and 2024. The season prior to that, the 2021-22 campaign, was when he won the Vezina Trophy.
One of the few bright spots for New York last season, Shesterkin remains one of the best goalies in the sport despite some tough self-criticisms for his performance this past season. Despite the team not finishing close to a playoff spot, he still had a 25-19-6 record to go along with a goals-against average of 2.50 and a save percentage of .912.
He was top-seven in the NHL in both goals-against average and save percentage, as well as goals saved above average, goals allowed adjusted and goalie point shares.
