Latest news with #Vezina
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Comparing Rangers, Devils, Islanders Starting Goalies
You'll have to agree – but you don't have to if you don't really want to – that goaltending will go a long way toward determining whether the Rangers, Islanders and Devils make the playoffs. (Don't ask me to pick a winner now; it's still July.) This past year only the Devils gained the postseason while both the Isles and Blueshirts missed. Next fall all three of the clubs will retain their top goalkeepers Jacob Markstrom in Newark, Igor Shesterkin in Manhattan and Ilya Sorokin on the Island. To understate the issue, they bear watching. Markstrom, obtained from Calgary, did what he was supposed to do; he gave the Devils just enough de luxe stopping to get them into the real season, alias the playoffs. Shesterkin disappointed. Period: Sorokin was overworked and too often injured to be a positive factor. A Few Things You Should Know About Rangers And Other NHL Friends THE GERARD GALLANT MYSTERY: The Maven is not sure about You, but I still can't figure out why Chris Drury ever fired Gerard Gallant. I liked the guy as player, as coach and as an individual. I bring him up now because Double G has signed on in the KHL – believe it or not – with the Kunlun team in China which plays in the K. (Thank You, Jim Cerny of Forever Blueshirts.) What can we expect going forward? For the answer to that The Maven imported my Vice President In Charge Of Goalie Knowledge, the eminent Mel Melzer. Take it away, Mel: "All three Met goalies are in remarkably similar situations," Melzer says. "We're talking about elite talents, but who have yet to truly cement their legacies in the postseason. Shesterkin already claimed a Vezina Trophy which meant that for one year at least he was the league's best. Ditto for Markstrom. But that's ancient history. "Even though Sorokin has no Vezina to brag about ,he has been consistently elite. He was hobbled by a team weakened by injuries all season. Still, his performances have shown that he's on the Markstrom-Shesterkin level." What's missing in each case? Melzer: "What ties them together is not just raw ability but the need to evolve from being 'great goalies' into the guy who wins when it matters most. Playoff greatness still eludes them. It's not a matter of skill, it's a mindset shift that's necessary. "Until that shift happens, we're left with tantalizing potential that hasn't translated into springtime success." Because of the natural New York-New York rivalry between the Rangers and Islanders, "Who's Better?" debates rage on between the respective fan bases. With that in mind, The Maven asked Mel to pick a winner. "Stylistically, Shesterkin and Sorokin mirror one another. Each is instinctive, agile and technically sound; not to mention emotionally composed. Watching Igor or Ilya in peak form is like a master class in modern goaltending." (Hmmm. No winner here.) What about Markstrom? Is he better than the two Russians? "The Swede brings a different flavor," Mel explains. "He has that towering frame and an authoritative presence. When he's on, he can look utterly unbeatable." The issue here is that he has not been "on" enough. "Let's face it," Mel concludes, "potential only gets you so far. It didn't the Rangers into the playoffs nor the Islanders and the Devils were gone faster than you can say 'Stop the puckl, Jake!'" Then, a pause: "The pressure on all three is mounting. The 2025-26 season – especially the playoffs – will be a defining chapter for all three!"
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rangers' Igor Shesterkin named top Russian goalie in NHL by friend, local rival
Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers and Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders are rivals on the ice but friends off it, dating to their days growing up and playing in Russia. Maybe that's why when Sorokin was asked in a recent interview back home who was the better goaltender, he had a simple, one-word answer. 'Shesterkin.' Advertisement To be sure, Shesterkin has the better resume. He won the Vezina Trophy as the top NHL goalie in 2021-22 and led the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 and 2024. He's also entering the first season of an eight-year contract with an average annual value of $11.5 million, the highest for a goaltender in NHL history. Sorokin was an NHL Second-Team All-Star in 2022-23, when he was a Vezina finalist, and teamed with fellow Russian Semyon Varlamov to get the Islanders to Game 7 of the East Final in 2021. When asked to compare some Russian goaltenders, Sorokin quickly took Varlamov ahead of Ilya Samsonov. He wasn't so quick to answer when asked to choose between his teammate and Sergei Bobrovsky, who has led the Florida Panthers to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. 'I can't betray Varlamov. Varlamov,' he finally answered. Advertisement But when asked to compare Varlamov to Shesterkin, he replied, 'I can do it here. Shesterkin,' The final question was whether he or his buddy is the better goalie, and he replied 'Shesterkin.' The numbers are on Shesterkin's side, though not by a lot. In the regular season, he is 162-88-22 with a 2.52 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and 21 shutouts. Sorokin, who came to the NHL a year after Shesterkin, is 125-89-36 with a 2.58 GAA, .917 save percentage and 22 shutouts. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Shesterkin is 23-20 with a 2.41 GAA and .928 save percentage. Sorokin is 6-6 with a 2.83 GAA and a .921 save percentage. Neither has had a postseason shutout. Advertisement Related: Dysfunctional Rangers focused more on 'emotional sh–' than playing hockey last season: Michael Peca Rangers rival finds way to tweak Igor Shesterkin with fun jab Sam Navarro-Imagn Images One thing Sorokin did do before his old friend was join the list of goaltenders credited with a goal. It happened on March 1, after he made a save in the final 20 seconds against the Nashville Predators at UBS Arena. The puck came to Nashville's Steven Stamkos in the left corner, but Stamkos' pass to the left point missed ex-Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei and slid down the ice into the empty net. 'I knew I'd do it before Igor,' Sorokin joked after the game. During a recent interview, conducted in Russian, Sorokin said his buddy wasted little time chirping him. Advertisement 'When they interviewed me, I said straight up that I'd do it before Igor,' Sorokin said. 'And he texts me, 'Congrats on the goal.' Then he read the interview and said, 'You're going to have to answer for those words.'' A lot of the chirping had to do with the fact that Sorokin didn't actually shoot the puck into the net, with Shesterkin joking that it wasn't a 'real goal.' The Islanders' netminder didn't mind. 'I totally agree, and I'm cool with it,' he said. 'Of course it wasn't a real shot. I didn't even shoot it. Just a technical 'own goal.' But in hockey, we don't have own goals, so I'm not stressing, it doesn't bother me at all that he says it's not a real goal.' Thomas Salus-Imagn Images No Rangers goalie has ever been credited with a goal, although Hall of Famer Ed Giacomin, arguably the best puck-handler of his era, did become the first goalie to have two assists in a game on March 19, 1972, more than seven years before Billy Smith of the Islanders became the first NHL goalie to be credited with a goal. On Nov. 28, 1979, Smith, like Sorokin, was the last Islanders player to touch the puck before Colorado Rockies defenseman Rob Ramage missed connections on a pass from behind the Isles' goal line and the puck slid back into Colorado's net. Advertisement Shesterkin, who scored a goal in 2013 when he played junior hockey in Russia, has come within inches of doing it several times in the NHL and is considered one of the League's best stick-handlers among goalies. He missed by a few feet wide left against Utah on Jan. 16. That wasn't his first near-miss. He barely missed wide left against the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 21, 2022, and again against the Florida Panthers at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 23, 2023. 'I was mad at myself,' Shesterkin said after the miss against the Panthers. 'I thought I would get a chance — and scoring in Madison Square Garden, I think it's the dream for everybody, not only for goalies.' Related Headlines
Time of India
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Bryan Hayes slams broken NHL system after Carey Price's brutal Hall of Fame rejection
Bryan Hayes slams broken NHL system after Carey Price's brutal Hall of Fame rejection (Image via Getty) Many supporters were anxious to hear Carey Price called. But his name wasn't on June 25, 2025, when the Hockey Hall of Fame revealed its newest inductees. People across Canada and the NHL community were baffled. Many people were shocked by the news regarding Carey Price, one of the most respected hockey goalies. One voice stood out—TSN's Bryan Hayes. He couldn't hide his feelings on air. But what exactly happened? And why are so many people talking about it? Carey Price left out of 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame class sparks strong reactions The Hockey Hall of Fame revealed its next inductees on Tuesday, June 25, 2025. Carey Price was not on the list even though players like Pavel Datsyuk and Shea Weber were included. Many fans and sports commentators were taken by surprise by this. Price is famous for his lengthy Montreal Canadiens career and for taking gold with Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics. — msports_all (@msports_all) Few goaltenders have accomplished what he did in 2015 when he also received the Vezina and Hart his awards and over 700 NHL games, he was not selected this time. His fans believe his career numbers and leadership should have made him a clear choice. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like True Italian Dining SJM Resorts Read More Undo Price retired from playing due to injury in 2022 but is still often seen around the sport. Bryan Hayes calls Carey Price's snub 'unbelievable' on live show After the announcement, NHL analyst and TSN radio host Bryan Hayes shared his opinion during his show OverDrive. He said, 'I can't believe it. Carey Price not going in this year is just unbelievable.' He explained that Price was not only great on the ice but also meant a lot to the game off the ice. Also Read: NHL Hall Of Fame 2025: Carey Price, Joe Thornton, P.K. Subban Lead A Star-Studded First-Ballot Lineup Hayes also said the Hall of Fame should look at more than just wins. 'You have to look at what a player means to the league. Carey Price checks every box,' he added. Fans on social media agreed with Hayes. Many posted that Price's moment will come soon, and that his name deserves to be there with the other legends. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
Boston Globe
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Is Tuesday the day former Bruins captains Zdeno Chara and Joe Thornton get the call from the Hockey Hall of Fame?
The committee, while not restricted to considering solely the newly eligible names, easily could anoint a handful from just the 'freshman' list. Among them: Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up ⋅ Longtime Kings captain Dustin Brown, his name twice on the Stanley Cup and a perpetually grinding presence in their lineup for 18 seasons and nearly 1,300 games. Advertisement ⋅ Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith, who helped revitalize the Original Six franchise and lead it to three Cup titles. A two-time Norris Trophy winner and the Duncan Keith won three Stanley Cup titles with the Blackhawks, including against the Bruins in 2013. Bruce Bennett ⋅ Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, who never backed Les Glorieux to the Cup but logged 361 wins (23rd all-time), and in 2015 was named both the Vezina (top goalie) and Hart (MVP) winner. Advertisement ⋅ Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, a particular Bruins nemesis, who won the Vezina in 2016 and two years later backed the distant sons of Abe Pollin to the lone Cup title in franchise history, going 16-7. Capitals goalie Braden Holtby was a Bruins nemesis. Barry Chin/Globe Staff Chara, the 6-foot-9-inch Trencin Tower of Power, should be a first-ballot lock. If not, the voting machines should be seized by the International Court of Hockey Justice at 3:01 p.m. Originally an Islanders draft pick, Chara played the majority of his career with the Bruins, signing as a free agent in the summer of 2006 and immediately named captain of a franchise in desperate need of a course correction and cultural reset. Big Z provided both, particularly once Claude Julien was named coach for the start of the 2007-08 season. Chara finished with 1,680 regular-season games, the most ever by an defenseman and No. 7 overall. In the spring of 2011, he was captain for the franchise's first Cup title in 39 years. The Cup run also represents the lone time the Bruins, in 100-plus years of operation, ever won 16 playoff games in a season. Goalie Tim Thomas was the star — and was duly chosen the Smythe winner — but Big Z had his fingerprints on every one of those wins as the team's relentless, intimidating force on the back end. Related : Beyond getting his name on the Cup, Chara also banked a Norris Trophy (2009) during his time in Black and Gold and deservedly could have been named the league's top defenseman at least two or three more times during his near quarter-century of service. Red Wings star Nicklas Lidstrom, the smooth and efficient Swedish backliner, won seven during Chara's tenure, explaining, in part, why Big Z won it but once. Lidstrom was more prolific on offense (1,142 points to Chara's 680) and he also played on four Cup winners. Only Bobby Orr, with eight Norris wins, eclipsed Lidstrom. Advertisement No one during Chara's time was his match as a shutdown defenseman. He was big and agile, with a long stick, longer reach, and even deeper hockey IQ. His quintessential moment of leadership came in the Chara's career line: 1,680 games, 209-471—680, and 2,085 penalty minutes, many recorded as one of the game's most feared fighters. His playoff line: 200 games, 18-52—70. The affable, smooth-handed Thornton arrived in Boston in the fall of 1997, chosen No. 1 in that June's draft. It was a franchise all but dead at the side of the Charles River, without a trip to the Cup Final since 1990, and after a 1996-97 season in which the Bruins finished last with 61 points. The gangly, smiling 18-year-old center from St. Thomas, Ontario, arrived as the would-be franchise savior. Advertisement It indeed all came together for Thornton, though not in Boston, where his captain's 'C' proved more burden than honor. On Nov. 30, 2005, frustrated general manager Mike O'Connell abruptly Thornton went on an immediate, near-mythical offensive tear with the Sharks, and months later was named that season's MVP after producing 20 goals and 92 points in only 58 games. The Hart turned out to be the biggest trophy of his long, productive career. Despite Thornton's abundant offensive talent, mainly for setting up goals, the Sharks only made it to one Cup Final during his 15-year stay. They lost to the Penguins in 2016. Thornton's career line: 1,714 games (sixth all-time), 430-1,109—1,539. Only six NHLers ever recorded more career assists, only 13 tallied more points. Like Chara, he should breeze through the Hall's front doors on Tuesday as easily as he threaded passes to a legion of linemates for 24 NHL seasons. Selected by the Bruins with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 draft, Joe Thornton did his best work with the Sharks. Jamie Squire As for the scores of NHLers previously passed over by the Hall, four stand out because of their bountiful goal-scoring. Patrick Marleau (566), Keith Tkachuk (538), Pat Verbeek (522), and Peter Bondra (503) all crested the coveted 500-goal plateau. All but Bondra, who finished with 892, tallied more than 1,000 points. Yet for all their firepower, the only one with his name on the Cup is Verbeek, who was long beyond his high-output Hartford/New Jersey days when he helped the Stars clinch the title in 1999. Tkachuk, who grew up in Melrose, never made it to a Cup Final. Advertisement Just a year ago, fellow Bay Stater Jeremy Roenick (513-703—1,216) finally was Longtime Bruins backstop Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at
Ottawa Citizen
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Stuart Skinner's future with Oilers a key consideration for GM Bowman
So, will Stu Skinner be back in net next season as the No. 1? Article content Or will he be sharing the crease in a 1 and 1a scenario, but not with the good soldier Calvin Pickard as a partner? Maybe they trade for somebody who is or was a starter. Article content Article content Enquiring minds want to know, and they're all wearing Edmonton Oilers jerseys. Article content There's this feeling that fixing the goaltending here is as simple as looking up plumbers on Google and having somebody come by to fix the leaking toilet. Article content Article content It's not. Article content Article content For sure, Skinner was outplayed by Sergei Bobrovsky in the final against Florida, but Bob's arguably on a career path to the Hall of Fame with his two Cup rings and his two Vezina trophies, plus his 445 regular-season wins, top 10 all-time. Article content Skinner has only played three NHL seasons (189 regular-season games, 50 in the playoffs), not Bob's 15 years (777 regular-season games and 117 in the playoffs). But he did get the Oilers to the last two Cup finals, with ample help from Pickard along the way this spring. He was definitely better than the ballyhooed Jake Oettinger in the Western Conference final against Dallas, not just this year, but last spring. Article content So, how bad can Skinner be? He wasn't the reason the Oilers lost to Florida this June; they're just too deep, reminding people of the early 80s New York Islanders with their talent and their wear-you-down philosophy of play. Article content Article content Again, Skinner is a good goalie who is in the mix for one of the three Olympic spots next February. But, there still could be a different configuration in net, like maybe somebody to push Skinner for playing time. Article content Article content 'I don't want to single the goaltending out,' said Bowman, who balked at trading for goaltending help at the deadline, maybe because he won three Cups in Chicago with Corey Crawford and Antti Niemi in net, so good goalies but not great ones. Article content But, he knows the narrative in this city, where Skinner, an accountable, nice guy with lots of ability, gave up two goals in the first period of all five starts in the final series after outplaying Oettinger and Hill, specifically, in heavyweight matchups earlier. Article content 'It's something we'll investigate this summer — what's the best path moving forward for our team. It's hard to predict where that's going to go. We have to have lots of conversations about what other teams are looking to do,' said Bowman, who did concede that the forward group and the goalies would be evaluated most deeply.
