Larry Brooks is providing player evaluations daily in the NY Post, an exercise that began the past Monday. The order is by last name, and while he is not giving a grade, he is giving a sort of high-level assessment. Since it's my hope that we will have hockey, I thought it might be interesting to take one or a few aspects of his daily column along with his closure - the latter in italics - and provide my view, then receive yours in the comments. I will try and do this daily, and have covered Lias Andersson, Pavel Buchnevich, Filip Chytil, Tony DeAngelo, Jesper Fast and Adam Fox. Today, it's Alexandar Georgiev.
Georgiev
There is nothing trivial about Georgiev’s tenure on Broadway, which is likely to last significantly longer than projected even four months ago. Because, while Igor Shesterkin was even more than anticipated following his early January promotion and won the No. 1 job within about two weeks, Georgiev accepted the challenge and rose to the occasion when his job security was on the line.
Except for the most technical definition, it was Georgiev, not Henrik Lundqvist, who emerged as the second goaltender in the three-goaltender squeeze. And it is Georgiev, not Lundqvist, who is likely to be Shesterkin’s partner in nets for 2020-21.
He is quick and he is composed. He is technically sound and he competes. He handles the puck well and rarely covers it if there’s an opportunity to move it and keep the play alive. Did we mention, composed?
You deal with Lundqvist on one side and Shesterkin on the other and still manage to maintain your sense of identity and your confidence. Georgiev has. Georgiev did. In fact, he elevated his game when challenged for a uniform, going 7-5-1 with a .910 save percentage and 2.87 goals-against average following Shesterkin’s promotion
As well as No. 40 has done, as spectacular as he can be when under siege (9-1 in games in which he has faced 42 or more shots), Georgiev has never started as many as four straight games. When given the opportunity to take it and run after the hierarchy put the No. 1 spot up for grabs in December, Georgiev couldn’t quite make it to the finish line. Just a few too many marginal goals.
This is why, in a league in which just about everyone has prospects in goal, it is unlikely anyone is going to be willing to overpay to a degree that would entice the Rangers to send Georgiev away.
Who is the goalie between Lundqvist and Shesterkin?
Odds are he will be right here, once again, next year.
Trading Georgiev was a major focus by many Rangers fans during the season. I advocated keeping him - even if three goalies were on the roster - due to the potential return that had been rumored. Getting a moderate level pick or player didn't really interest me and the thoughts of a bigger deal seemed remote as best.
Georgiev, who went 17-13-2 with 3.04 GAA and .910 save pct. in 34 games, with 32 starts, is in the final season of contract with annual cap hit of $792,500. He is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights, meaning a spike in salary is forthcoming. If another buyout is allowed due to the current delay with the league resuming and the ramifications therein, whoever of Lundqvist, Marc Staal or Brendan Smith is waived, a portion of that salary savings will go to Georgiev, who should be in the $2.5 million range.
While not the puck-mover that Shesterkin is, Georgiev is significantly better in that regard than Lundqvist, which aids the defense. Having him and Shesterkin as the future in net takes pressure off both, avoiding overwork. Georgiev can play 20-30 games next season, likely on a two-year deal, which allows some of the other goalie prospects in the system time to mature further, especially if the team can lock up Tyler Wall and/or Olof Lindblom pans out.
If Lundqvist is back next season, holding onto Georgiev gets dicier, especially if the cap doesn't rise as projected. GM Jeff Gorton and President John Davidson will then have their work cut out for them. But that won't be known for a bit. Presuming all remains as close to proposed initially, look for Georgiev to be back as a Ranger next season.
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