Edmonton Oilers acquire goaltender Igor Shesterkin from the New York Rangers in latest trade proposal
Igor Shesterkin is suddenly in Edmonton trade chatter, and Kris Knoblauch's exit leaves the Oilers staring at a massive call in net.
This is not a real NHL trade. It is a proposal making the rounds online, but it lands at a rough time for Edmonton because the bench is unsettled and the next coach is still unknown.
The suggested package is heavy: a 2028 first-round pick, a 2028 third-round pick, a 2027 fifth-round pick, Ike Howard, Beau Akey, and Tristan Jarry for Shesterkin. That is not a small swing.
Shesterkin is the headliner for a reason. His cap hit sits at 11500000, the highest among listed NHL goaltenders, so this is not just a crease upgrade. It is a franchise-level bet.
That is where Stan Bowman comes in. He is not just weighing saves and starts here. He would be reshaping the roster core while also trying to sort out the next voice behind the bench.
Akey is the kind of piece that changes the conversation. He was drafted 56th overall in 2023, and his entry-level contract carries an 863333 cap hit through 2026-2027.
This is bigger than a goalie swap
Jarry's inclusion matters too. Once a current roster goalie goes into the package, Edmonton is no longer talking about adding support. It is talking about rebuilding the position before a new coach sets the structure.
That is what makes this proposal tricky. A new coach could want a tighter five-man look, cleaner exits off the blue line, or a different workload split in the crease.
And that is why this story is less about highlight value and more about timing. A big-name goalie can raise a team's ceiling, but timing still drives whether the move actually fits.
For the Rangers, moving Shesterkin would mean parting with one of the league's biggest names in net. For the Oilers, it would mean draining futures to chase one answer fast.
There is no doubt the idea grabs attention. Edmonton gets a star, the Rangers get quantity, and the debate takes off right away.
But from the Oilers' side, this looks like a pressure move made before the organization has settled the most basic question on the bench. That is what makes the proposal so hard to ignore.
|
YESTERDAY
MAY 20, 2026
| ||||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Dylan Coghlan | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Pavel Dorofeyev | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nic Dowd | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Landeskog | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ross Colton | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Tomas Hertl | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ben Hutton | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mitch Marner | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brandon Saad | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Colton Sissons | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Devon Toews | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Ahcan | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| Brent Burns | - | - | - | |
| Jack Drury | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||