The good news? The 2025 NHL Draft is coming up, and following it is the free agency frenzy. The bad news? The dog days of summer are upon us. It has been a very exciting year for hockey, and there were a lot of great storylines that helped spearhead the 2024-25 season. One of them was seeing Connor Hellebuyck win the Hart Trophy, and being the first goalie to do so since Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price won it during the 2014-15 season. One thing that came back to memory was when New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin was a nominee for the award during the 2021-22 season, but lost. He was robbed and should’ve taken that hardware home.
Shesterkin Was Robbed of the Hart Trophy
There is an understanding as to why superstar center for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews, won the Hart Trophy during the 2021-22 season. Seeing him score 60 goals and 106 points is huge, and he scored 25 more goals than the guy in second place that season. However, the Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner had 97 points, and William Nylander had 80. They weren’t starved for offense entirely. They had depth that season.
Shesterkin was a large reason the Rangers finished with 110 points. Shesterkin was far and away the best goalie that season and won the Vezina Trophy because of it. He led the league in save percentage (.935) and goals-against average (2.07). The one thing that stands out is his 39.49 goals saved above expected, which also led the league.
You can definitely make a case that Shesterkin got robbed. The Rangers likely wouldn’t have had the same success if they had to rely on Alexandar Georgiev for that entire season. In fact, Shesterkin was just as worthy of winning the Hart Trophy as Hellebuyck this season.
Comparing the Two Goalies
There is no denying the talent that Hellebuyck is or the impact he had on the Winnipeg Jets. Without him, they likely don’t win the Presidents’ Trophy. Hellebuyck was great from an individual standpoint, much like Shesterkin. He finished second in both save percentage (.925) and goals-against average (2.00). Also, he led the league in wins (47) and shutouts (8). Most noteworthy is that his goals saved above expected led the league with a towering 42.96.
Each season presents different circumstances with who else is a Hart Trophy nominee. But truthfully, Shesterkin should’ve been able to take home the hardware with similar numbers. This season, Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers) had the same production Matthews had, while also carrying the load with Connor McDavid out with an injury at the start of the season. The Oilers do not have the same firepower as the Maple Leafs. Yet somehow, Hellebuyck managed to secure the award.
The team in front of Hellebuyck was very good and one of the best all-around offenses in the league. It’s not something that Shesterkin had during the 2021-22 season. The Jets’ offense was third in goal scoring (275) and had the league’s most lethal power play, which was best in the league with a 28.9% success rate. Hellebuyck did have to stand on his head because the team in front defensively gave up the eighth-most shots per game (27.18).
The Rangers’ offense was not nearly as strong as the Jets’. Sure, they got a very surprising season out of Chris Kreider, scoring 52 goals. But the Rangers were middle of the pack in goal scoring and relied heavily on special teams play. More often than not, they were not going to win games in high-scoring fashion unless the other team lived in the penalty box. The team in front of Shesterkin allowed 30.83 shots per game, which ranked 30th in the league.
When you really break it down, both goalies were at the top of their game. They both led the league in their respective categories, and both stood tall in net despite the defenses in front of them. At the end of the day, when diving into the numbers, Shesterkin in 2021-22 was just as good as Hellebuyck in 2024-25. And if Hellebuyck beat out Draisaitl, Shesterkin should’ve beaten out Matthews.
Shesterkin Deserved the Award
Every year presents new circumstances. Looking back, Shesterkin was the true definition of the most valuable player to his team during the 2021-22 season. He was truly elite and should’ve won the award during that season. Given what Hellebuyck did and how remarkable he was, Shesterkin had very similar output and in similar circumstances.
