There are so many similarities yet some differences as well between Henrik Lundqvist and Igor Shesterkin.
For years Henrik Lundqvist was the king of New York as the face of the Rangers, but now that title belongs to Igor Shesterkin.
Almost immediately after the Lundqvist era in New York ended, the Shesterkin era began. From one Hall of Fame goalie to another.
You would think that there would be some sort of competitive nature between these two legendary goalies, but Lundqvist has a lot of respect for Shesterkin’s game.
"He's been so steady ever since he entered the league," Lundqvist told Bleacher Report.
"His ability to read the plays and be very efficient in the way he plays goaltender and the way he moves upright in his stance allows him to move pretty quickly on his feet. I expect him to be one of the best goaltenders again. He's up there every year and challenging the top guys in the league with the way he plays and his ability to come up big when it matters."
Entering a contract year, there is a lot of pressure for Shesterkin to perform if he wants to achieve his goal of becoming the highest paid goaltender in NHL history.
He looks to follow in the footsteps of Lundqvist who signed a seven-year, $59.5 million extension, which at the time made him the highest paid goalie.
The similarities between Lundqvist and Shesterkin are uncanny, both being the perfect players and people to handle the bright lights of New York.
The only major difference right now is Lundqvist's stardom and almost immortal status he achieved as the Rangers goalie.
Shesterkin is not there quite yet, but he is well on his way to reaching those heights at his current trajectory.
Lundqvist brought so much happiness and success to the Rangers organization. Shesterkin looks to accomplish something Lundqvist never did though and that’s a Stanley Cup victory.
