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We're eight games into the NHL season, and the team that finished last in the East last year, third from bottom all season, and is now without their season-long goaltender Vezina, is second in points in the league, trailing only the defending Stanley Cup champions. So, what the heck should they do? Welcome to Top Shelf, presented by Enterprise. Players need good vehicles, and so do you. That's why we're here for the hockey crowd with a great selection of vehicles and an excellent team to help you find the right one, and guys, the Rangers are on fire right now. What do you think of the Rangers? They are absolutely on. They are second in points in the league. They are second in goals allowed with only
1.75 per game. They are sixth in goals scored. Alexis Lafreniere is second in goals in the entire league with seven. further. It's no longer a failure. We've seen enough after eight games. Zibanejad and Adam Fox average one point per game. But somehow, they're still outside the favorites, at least in terms of Stanley Cup odds and their ranking. People still doubt this team. They really don't believe in enthusiasm after eight games. Let's start with the positive aspects before delving into the major questions surrounding this organization. What 's happening in New York? How is this going well? I mean, this team was really bad last year. It was
a really bad hockey team and they were even without their goalie all year round. We'll start with you, Josh. What do you like most about the Rangers so far and why does it work? I'm going back. I loved the off-season they had. In particular, the way they rebuilt that blue line by bringing in Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi. It's as if they've found a whole second partner. That's not easy to do in the NHL. You know, you've got Gavrikov playing up front with Fox. I think that brings out the best in Fox, giving him the best partner he's ever had. You know, she had to put up with Ryan Lindgren all those years. So yes, the blue line is the most important factor here for me. Perhaps a second season under
Mike Sullivan's system is also helping a lot. I was much more undecided about their off-season, to be perfectly honest. I'm not really convinced about Pavel Dorofeyev, the $11 million player. Now, 11 million dollars doesn't look so bad now. It exploded, but it doesn't have incredible numbers to start this season either. I was much more undecided about spending a future first- round pick on Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi, and seeing how it looks. But so far everything has been quite good and I think the important thing is Alexis Lafrenière and his production from the beginning. In other words, if you don't have Lafrenière's seven goals at the start, we'd be talking about a
very different Rangers team, because you're talking about Pavel Dorofeyev with one goal or whatever he has now, and it's like you're missing that second player who can really make things work. Although you know Dorofeyev will eventually start scoring. I think you know it for sure, but you expect it or take it for granted based on what you paid for it. But I think everything is falling into place really well right now, even though not all the pieces are, but I think the most important thing is the level of goalkeeping they're achieving, which is crazy to say because you mentioned at the beginning, of course, Igor Shesterkin's end-of-season injury. He was great until the moment he got injured, and the guy who replaced him, who was on
waivers a couple of weeks ago, Dylan Garand, has also been excellent in place of Shesterkin. Yes, that would be my next question. I should mention that I'm obviously talking about Lafrenière with the goals, Evgeny Dadonov with one point per game, and Shesterkin with two points. There you have it. He had the goal, of course. With the goal too. So where is this team without those two key players from Shesterkin? Who knows, both were obviously into an empty net. But yes, tell me about this new guy. We'll start with you
again, Josh, Dylan Garand. He has a record of three and one so far. He has an average of 1.15 goals against and a save percentage of.951, which is second in the league in both aspects. Not bad, again, with a sample size of four games. So it's not the worst thing. Can they trust him? That's my first question. Do you think that's someone they can really trust right now? Look, for now, yes. Because he's obviously been fantastic, and I feel like we see this with goalkeepers almost every year. Some guy comes out of nowhere and makes an impact. I think it was Brandon Bussi last year. Hey, if Brandon
Bussi could lead the Hurricanes to the cup, maybe Dylan Garand can do the same. Yes. Probably not, but hey, you had a goaltender win the Stanley Cup after being claimed off waivers. What about after going through waivers? I suppose that's the next step. Yes. Well, Dylan Garand is a fascinating case. I thought they were going to sign him, to be honest, a couple of years ago. His numbers in the AHL, a save percentage of.901. He is a former goalkeeping prospect who was quite promising. You might remember his name because he was a starter for Canada in the Junior World Cup and won gold. He has solid numbers in the AHL, not
necessarily dazzling. It's been a couple of years longer than last season, but I think the important thing I always look at in the AHL is how he compares to the other goalkeepers on the team. Like a kind of. very different factors here. Given the environment and the other goalkeepers he has competed against in recent years, especially in the AHL, he has far exceeded his performance in save percentage. So he's a goalkeeper I like. He is 24 years old, not the oldest, perhaps that's why he has been underestimated at times, but his performance is there right now. Even during his brief stint in the NHL last season he did very well; He's obviously not going to be a.950 goaltender all season, but he has the talent and pedigree of a former
top prospect to deserve a shot. To play a few games, to be treated basically as a starter. The Rangers still have Joonas Korpisalo around. He's injured now, so they're relying on Garand, and they certainly need to because you don't want to resort to fourth-choice goalkeeper Spencer Martin. But it was clearly a great story at the beginning. Can it be expected to maintain the current level? Obviously not, but could he be an average player in the league? Could he be a slightly above- average player? I think that's the real question, and I have faith that he can be a league-average goaltender in the NHL.
The big question everyone has, and me especially, is whether their descent into reality will be enough for Rangers to remain good, because they were a difficult team to decipher in the preseason; I even remember our predictions. I put them last in the Metro. I think you put them sixth and Josh did have some faith in the Rangers. Yes. Perhaps with Igor Shesterkin having a Vezina-level season, maybe. Yes, that's right, you had them third. So, is there enough in this Rangers squad to justify investing in a different goalkeeper? It's a very interesting situation because it's like, do you throw away a pretty good season from your forwards and defenders
despite having, you know, a big question mark in goal and not having Shesterkin this year? Do you just throw away the season no matter how good the team looks in all other areas? Do you address the goalkeeping issues, or do you think it's worth doing? They're in a complicated situation because they've already traded their 2028 first-round pick. They've already traded their 2030 first-round pick. They still have this year's first-round pick. So I think it opens up some possibilities where you could accept a season without Shesterkin, write it off and move on to the next one, but they've already missed the playoffs a couple of years in a row. You don't want to let that turn into something much worse, and this isn't exactly a young squad either. So I think that
especially if this good start continues through the end of November and the beginning of December, I really have to look to capitalize on what is an effective season for your skaters even without your star goalie. Therefore, I think part of it is that Garand is a guy you can trust. Part of that will be Korpisalo potentially returning, but I do think it's something potentially valuable. I didn't have high expectations for the Rangers at first, but if they're exceeding my expectations, if they're in the fight, the Metro division is pretty open, aside from probably the Hurricanes at the top and potentially the Capitals in that mix too.
I think there's clearly a playoff spot available for Rangers, and especially after the last two seasons and how the future looks, I think it's absolutely worth trying to get a goalkeeper to at least match Garand, if Korpisalo returns and isn't necessarily good, or if you simply do n't trust Korpisalo's fitness or Garand to maintain at least a league-average level this season. Yes, yes, that's reasonable. Okay, then, let's get to our main Enterprise question: if they're going to replace Shesterkin, I guess, who should they replace him with? We'll start with you, Josh. We have the answers written down. We have a few options that
will be in the community poll, but I want to surprise everyone when we go over this. So, your first choice, Josh, who do you think the Rangers should bring in if they decide to do so? Well, I think a modest investment would make sense. Of course Hellebuyck, that doesn't make any sense with the future contract and Shesterkin. But I think a modest investment like Jordan Binnington would be absolutely great. He will be an unrestricted free agent after this year. I think if Goran maintains this level and Corpus Salo is more or less the same, maybe you could trade Corpus Salo in some deal for Binnington, because perhaps the Blues want future contract security
. Corpus Salo has another year left on his contract and Hofer is the right person for the future. I can't imagine them signing Jordan Binnington again, nor can I imagine him wanting to sign there again. So I think Binnington might come here, see it as a refreshing opportunity, have a chance for the rest of the year, and then, even if he plays well, you don't re-sign him. Goran is your backup for Shesterkin going forward. That's the interesting part of all this, isn't it? It's like Hellebuyck is the first name that comes to mind. Yes. But you have Shesterkin secured long-term. So basically you're looking for a pending free agent type situation. And that's what makes it so interesting for potential candidates to search for.
Binnington is probably the most prominent pending free agent goalkeeper. It would be a really interesting adjustment to see. Obviously, you know, Binnington was very bad last year, but he's a guy who showed ability in important games. I believe the potential is much greater. The bright lights of New York. than a guy like Corpus Salo. Hey, it was good under the bright lights of the Olympic Games. I think he can handle MSG.
Hey Kyle, who, who do you think? I'm going to go with John Gibson here. And the first reaction might be, well, why is Detroit changing it? Because they are trying to be competitive. Well, I look at their goaltender situation and I think they have one of the most intriguing situations in the entire NHL because they have Gibson, a pending free agent. They have Danil Tarasov, who arrived and has been fantastic from the start. in the league right now with. He 's also a pending free agent, right? He is also a pending free agent. And then they have Trey Augustine in the system waiting for his moment. But they also have a European free agent they signed last year, Michael Pustovoy, who has been the best goaltender in the AHL for
the past year and at the start of this season. So, for me, when looking at the types of players who might be available, players with experience, players who make sense to, um, maybe also be a bit of a mentor to Garand in this situation as a one-year patch, I think Gibson fits in very well if the Red Wings potentially get rid of him to free up goalkeeping space for Tarasov. If that's a player they want to keep long- term, then they want to give Pustovoy or Augustine playing time in the NHL this season. Uh, I don't think Gibson is going to renew in Detroit, I don't think they should renew his contract. So, I think it fits in that respect. He's an unrestricted free agent, so it's not a long-term commitment. He's a guy
with a track record, and the most important thing about Gibson is his ability to play a lot of games. And if you're unsure about the fitness of some goalkeepers in the squad or Garand's ability to play more than 50 games this season, if that's what you're asking him to do, I think Gibson is a great veteran to help Garand progress this season without Sturkin available, um, but also to be that guy you know can play three times a week if you really need him to. Yes, yes. So, definitely a reasonable answer. My answer is, I only have Sam Montembeault. I think it's pretty obvious that he's also an unrestricted free agent pending, so treat him like a rental. Obviously, the Habs are spoiled in that regard with Dobish and
Fowler, so the cost would be quite minimal for Montembeault, I think. Is it a great, great.there's a world where Garand is simply better than he is now, because obviously he was great a few years ago, but who knows now with the injury too. But if they're looking for someone low-cost who can at least replicate what Gourdeau and Corpus Salo can do right now, and maybe just have another option, I think bringing in a guy like that makes a lot of sense. It was very solid until a year or two ago And then yes, yes. Is Montembeault available? Yes, that's what I was going to say too. That's all I can think of. Yes, is Montembeault available?
Yes, he seems to be the low- risk, high-reward type, where maybe you opt for a three-goalkeeper system, having three in the squad or whatever you do with Korpisalo in that case. Montembeault is interesting because he is also injured right now . But when he returns, it's a short-term injury. Like when they first started with him on the roster, Montreal. He has lost his job again. Jacob Fowler is there, and he looked pretty good at first. Yes, so it's an interesting question. It's a bit of a trick question. I really don't think so. Here we go. Oh, God. I don't think there's an obvious answer, because they both have more or less the same pedigree. What would
Rangers need to do to trade Shesterkin for Hellebuyck? Okay, that's fine. That's an interesting topic. I think it's less, although Shesterkin has a no-move clause. So I don't know if that. less about making that change, because I think Rangers are perfectly fine keeping Shesterkin. I think that if you were to acquire Hellebuyck, it's more like you 're in video game mode. You acquire it for this season and then transfer it after the season. I do n't see something like that happening because- and that would be the fastest change- they're not that creative. And secondly, it's not actually a video game. But if it
happened, how incredible would it be Yes, I guess I don't know who loses out there, because you know, the Sis would definitely trade Igor. Yes, well, him, but are they the Jets or the Rangers? Obviously the Jets probably don't, like we can't really decide where they are right now so early in the season, even when we do that with the Rangers right here and now, but. Do Skinner. Yes, I think it's an interesting debate. The last thing I wanted to mention is, how high are your expectations for this Rangers team? Because I was taking a quick look at the odds of making the playoffs versus where the teams are right now. Toronto
has better odds than Rangers at the moment. The Sabres have better odds, the Capitals, the Devils are the four teams I marked. Do you think Rangers will finish above any of those four teams? I think they could finish above the Devils. OK. Definitely. Speaking of Metro, I think it 's difficult to assess, you know, the other divisions, but speaking of Metro, I think they could still finish ahead of the Devils. I don't think Georgiev is necessarily much worse than the Devils' goalkeeping situation, so. No, yes, I would say it's quite comparable. I think the big difference is how much you trust the squads. To be honest, I like the Devils' squad much more than the Rangers'.
Yes. Uh, but I had lower expectations for the Rangers at the start of the season. You had slightly higher expectations of them. I think Rangers, at least initially, especially if this Lafrenière emergence is real and he's a game- changer from the start, are in the same boat. I think those could be the two teams we're talking about for that third place in the Metro League throughout the season. I think the most important thing for me is that Shesterkin simply gave this team a very high ceiling. Yes. Whereas, you know, if everything goes well and Shesterkin is on a roll, maybe this is a team that can go very far in the playoffs. That
seems out of the question now, but hey, you never know. Yes. Hey Dylan, Georgiev and I clicked all season. Come on. Yes. Well, we'll have to wait and see, but it's certainly been a fun start for the Rangers and Rangers fans. Finally, they have a little something to believe in. They are scoring goals at home. Last season they set the NHL record for most shutout losses at home to start the season. So, I mean, it's a much better start than last year. I think they scored more goals in their first home game this year than they did in their first five home games last year combined.
Shesterkin did it. Yes. Yes, literally. So, yeah, certainly, you know what, Rangers fans, uh yeah, it's good for you to have something to believe in. Very curious to see how the next few matches go with their goalkeeping situation. Will they make a decision and exchange someone for someone? It should be a very fun and interesting situation to monitor over there in New York. That's all the time we have for today's program. This has been Top Shelf presented by Enterprise. We'll see them in the next episode.
