The Rangers sign Igor Shesterkin to a record $92 million contract

After all the noise, after all the unrest surrounding Jacob Trouba, the week will end on a positive note.

The Rangers have made a decision for the future.

The Rangers are committed to the present.

The Rangers have made a commitment to Igor Shesterkin.

And Igor Shesterkin chose the Rangers.

The Post has learned that the Blueshirts and their franchise goaltender have agreed to an eight-year, $92 million contract extension that begins next season, giving Shesterkin an NHL record annual average value of $11.5 million -Goalkeeper will earn.

Signing this number represents a coup for the Rangers and GM Chris Dury in an environment where speculation is rife about whether the Blueshirts might a) trade Shesterkin; or b) be able to keep him off the free agent market next July.

The signing represents the most positive news of a season in which the team has been plagued by outside noise while also embroiled in internal turmoil, losing six of its last seven games before Friday’s Garden matchup with the Penguins.

This is a statement that Drury and the hierarchy are not turning their backs on this season or the near future and actually believe in this team.

One less expense.

Montreal’s Carey Price was the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history as of 2018, having an eight-year, $84 million contract with an average annual salary of $10.5 million that began in 2018. Price has been on LTIR since late 2021 due to knee issues. 22 season.

If the 2025-26 cap is set at the currently projected $92.4 million, Shesterkin’s contract will represent 12.44 percent of the total. Artemi Panarin, who remains the highest-paid player in franchise history at $11,642,857 per player, made up 14.29 percent of the cap in his first year in New York. When Henrik Lundqvist’s final contract took effect in 2014-15, the King made up 12.32 percent of the cap and was making $8.5 million per year.

This was not an exercise in greed by Shesterkin, represented by Rick Komarov and Maxim Moliver. Not in the slightest. After securing a record-breaking second goalie contract four years ago that would see the goaltender earn an AAV of $5,666,667, it was a matter of finding the number that would keep the team’s most valuable player in New York .

The Moscow native, who turns 29 on Dec. 30, had rejected an eight-year, $88 million offer on the eve of the opener that put him on track to test the unrestricted free agent market on July 1. But despite the goaltender’s camp indicating there would be no further talks until the end of the season, Drury came forward earlier this week and resumed negotiations, which came to fruition on Friday.

Shesterkin, whose early brilliance led the Blueshirts to 5-0-1 and 12-4-1 outings, went 6-2-1 with a 2.22 GAA and a .933 save percentage through Nov. 3 from odd-man rushes and risky chances created by repeated mishaps at both ends of the ice.

Perhaps ironically, the 2022 Vezina winner is in the midst of a career-high five-game losing streak. He is 8-9-1 with a 3.05 GAA and a .908 save percentage, despite being the Rangers’ best player in a challenging first quarter.

The Blueshirts selected the Russian in the fourth round (114th overall) of the 2014 draft out of Moscow Spartak Jr. Shesterkin graduated from the KHL in St. Petersburg before moving to North America for the 2019-20 season.

Shesterkin was promoted to the Rangers on January 6, 2020 after half a season with the AHL Wolf Pack, displacing Lundqvist from the No. 1 position in a three-goalie scenario that included Alex Georgiev under then-head coach David Quinn.

No. 31 then took over as No. 1 the following 56-game season after Lundqvist was bought out and Georgiev served as his replacement. A year later, Shesterkin posted a save percentage of .935, which is the third best in NHL history behind Tim Thomas with .938 in the 2010-11 season and Dominik Haseks with .937 in the 1998-99 season (minimum 50 games). thus securing Vezina before leading the Rangers to the conference finals.

In fact, Shesterkin has been the Blueshirts’ best player in each of the last three playoff seasons. He recorded a .928 save percentage and a 2.39 GAA and took his team to the Final Four twice. He is widely regarded as the NHL’s best goaltender.

That’s why he’ll become the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history next year.