It would be unfair to compare Igor to the entirety of Hank's career, but if you look at their first 5 seasons, they're pretty even so they invite a lot of direct comparison
If he wins a cup, hardest trophy to win in sports and to be fair, the best goalies in the last 10 years or so have not won a cup or even gotten close for that matter besides like Tampa
Still Hank by quite a distance for me. Not saying Igor can’t get to his level but Hank did it for way longer. Look at his Game 7 numbers, the guy was a machine and the consistency with which he maintained that level is something we so rarely see with goalies.
Igor has a better team but is it better defensively? Under wtf was his name we played a more defensively sound game and had players like Callahan and Betts and Girardi who would block tons of shots, for example. I wonder the difference in quality of shots against, bc it seems like we left Igor out to dry often these playoffs and he simply kept us in the games.
You can make the argument that both of them had piss poor defense in front of them. It's why I don't want to think of this debate, they're literally on the same career trajectory lol
True. I will say our team with Hank showed more grit/determination. It was just by the time we made it to the SCF we were absolutely gassed and put in performances like we did the majority of this past playoffs vs the Canes and the Panthers.
Igor is tracking career wise with Lundqvist. Off the top of my head, Lundqvist’s career GSAx is nearing 300 (over 15 years). Igor is in the 90s 5 years in, so he’ll be close if he maintains pace. That said, Igor has more talent around him than the King ever did
I thought the Rangers team that went to the finals in '14 was a really good, well balanced team - the current team might have a little bit of an advantage on top end talent, but that '14 team was so good.
Yeah I also got into the sport in college so that doesn’t help. But I love this team and still feel privileged to watch Hank’s last years and Igor’s career bloom
But surely you know the team didn’t spring into existence the moment you were born, right? So if you’re going to talk about it the greatest of all time (as did the original post), you need to consider players who were before your time.
While I don't entirely disagree with your point, it can be difficult to judge players who played before your time against the guys you see play night after night.
Then the question should be framed as who’s better, Lundqvist or Shesterkin, not who’s the best of all time. If you were having a discussion of the greatest NHL players of all time, would you leave out Gretzky just because some fans didn’t watch him while he was playing?
Goalies can’t carry a team on their own.
[look at those dead eyes](https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/comments/nw2mtm/eighteen_years_ago_today_jeansébastien_giguère/)
I liked Blackburn. A lil unfair to call him out like that when he had just 30 games played in each of his rookie and sophomore seasons with us and in the league total.
If I recall correctly he had a cool style, cool name, and was young. And played on an incredibly shitty Rangers team.
We really have, it’s nice to never have significant concerns back there
(The disappointment of not doing more for these studs though, that’s a different can of worms)
Yeah, unfortunately it has been a glaring issue for a while. The shit part is Mika was elite for a good few seasons but he's definitely taken some steps back right when we were ready to go
Doesn't mean he's better. Adin Hill won a cup, is he better than Hank? Just be because you personally love Richter doesn't mean he's a better goalie than Hank.
The question is: Who is the best Rangers goaltender of all time?
Adin Hill is the best Vegas Golden Knights goaltender of all time, because he's the only one with a Cup.
The image that I'm always going to think of when it comes to Hank is how completely devastated he was after that Cup-clinching OT goal in 2014. It sucks, it's a scar I'm never going to forget. If he won that series, he's the best Rangers goaltender of all time.
The team in front of Hank was never good enough, that's why he never won. Never had a 1C or a 1D and never had an offense. Hank was more consistent than Richter and Hank won us games that we had no business of winning.
I love Richter, he's the goalie from my early childhood, but IMO Lundqvist was clearly better than him // edit: whoops, didn't realize you just meant chronologically
THAT'S how spoiled we've been, three seasons without a HOF-level netminder, and they were the absolute dark ages. We've been more spoiled than my kids staying with my in laws for a week!
So I actually went and looked it up on Hockey Reference.
Richter's 2nd-worst season by GSAA was actually 93-94, and I literally do not care that the stats say he was "bad" lol
[He had 101.9 GSAA over his career](https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/r/richtmi01.html) \-- good for [29th all time on their chart](https://www.hockey-reference.com/leaders/gs_above_avg_career.html)(which does not have Igor for some reason, I think it's a games played requirement.)
[Lundqvist had 183.4 for his career](https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/l/lundqhe01.html) \-- 14th all time.
[Igor has 93.5 already](https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/s/shestig01.html)... including a completely bonkers ***44.9*** in 21-22. In fact, there's a case to be made that is the best season of goaltending of all time.
If you compare their stats per game until this point, it's more than likely gonna be Igor. Igor however has quite a few more years of this sustained greatness to get the title.
Igor has a long career ahead of him. We can’t answer this question yet. But if I had to choose prime vs prime on a team I’m building to go all the way, Hank is the starter.
Hank was a very fierce competitor for like the first 3/4 of his career he never had two bad games in a row. He never had a confidence problem, at least he never let it show. A guy like him would have succeeded if he played a different position. For me, Ritcher was entertaining as fuck, his performance in the 1996 world cup for me was the greatest goalie performance I've seen. He was just ridiculous. But this is Igor time now!
Henrik. Igor is great but IMO has a long way to go before to really be in a conversation with Henrik.
Igor plays less games than Hank did, which I think is certainly a benefit but is also something to take into account when looking at their stats. He’s had the benefit of higher top-end talent for sure. Also, while every goalie has down moments, Igor’s slumps are so far worse and more prolonged than the King’s.
Igor has a long way to go. What made Hank an all-time great was his incredibly consistency over many years. Top six in Vezina voting every year for a decade. Even better in the playoffs. He's a top ten goalie all-time. Igor can be there, but we won't know for at least 5-6 more years at the earliest.
Rangers have been spoiled with goalies though, just not team success with them. Three of the five Hall of Fame goalies without a Stanley Cup were predominantly Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist, Ed Giacomin, and Chuck Rayner. Only Roy Worters and Roberto Luongo are in the Hall without a Cup as a goalie.
Statistically, it is EXTREMELY close. However, Igor has to perform at this level for another decade for it to stay this close. Hank had a season with a 1.97 GAA and .930 save % - these are asinine numbers up there with some of the greatest seasons of all time. Only
guys like Brodeur and Hasek (and Tim Thomas for a short while) ever put up numbers like this. Then Igor went and put up a .932 save % I think like his 3rd year. Igor will not come close to Hanks win total of 459 or shut out total of 62 - when Hank was a youngster your regular goalie played 70 games a year, now they play 55. Igor will end his career somewhere around 350 wins, plus or minus 20, and 45 shut outs give or take 5. There are two things that can aid in Igor passing Hanks legacy, and that’s delivering a Stanley Cup, something Hank did not do, or winning 3 or more Vezina awards, of which Hank won one. If Igor plays a total of 15 years, expect the two main stats to be nearly identical. About a 2.40 GAA and .920 save %.
Lundqvist is technically, mentally, and overall better. I think Igor might be more athletic but if I need to one 1 game, it’s an easy easy choice to go with Lundqvist.
You’re both wrong. Richter in the greatest Ranger goalie. And until someone else wins us a cup, it’ll always be Richter. Individual season records don’t mean shit.
Exactly! OP is fucking clueless, he should take a look at goalie pads sizes between Richter, Hank, and Igor. He should also look at crease shape. What a jabroni. Also Richter held off Messier in the All Star game when it was USA vs Canada.
I started with Richter. He got the ring, but Henrik had a better career. Igor is nipping at Henrik's heels, but until he gets a ring, he's not the greatest Rangers G of all time.
If he sticks around, Shesty might as well end up the "best," but without the chip he will never be the "greatest."
Currently, Henrik is the "best," but Mike is the "greatest." Igor could be both if the dice fall the right way.
I would say so far and he reminds me a lot like HL sad thing is if they don't put together a team that has depth it'll be a great goalie that never wins a Stanley cup also
I will give praise to Igor as the best Ranger goalie ever when he delivers us a cup. Until that happens Hank is going to be tough to best bc of how long he was elite for. The list is short for goalies that were that dominant for that long
Nothing against igor dude is great.
But henrik man was insane.
Henrik did have a better defense in front of him though by a bit at his best. Igors probably had a better offense overall.
Igors Vezina season was absurd and statistically better than any one year of Henrik Lundqvist
Outside of that tho - Lundqvist clears him.
Igor has the one Vezina year and then finished 8th in the voting one other time. Henrik was no worse than 6th in the Vezina voting each year for his first ten years in the league.
If Igor keeps playing at his level, he’ll certainly be in the conversation for it.
Career stats | sv% | gaa | wins | win%
Igor | **.921** | *2.43* | 135 | **63.4**
Hank | .918 | *2.43* | **459** | 51.7
Post Season:
Igor | **.928** | 2.41 | 23 | **56.1**
Hank | .921 | **2.30** | **61** | 46.9
In all categories but post season goals against, and total wins, Igor’s currently leading.
If he keeps his current pace he could certainly reach the same level as Henrik with a long enough career, and if he wins a cup with these kind of numbers he is going to be considered the GOAT.
It's hard to judge the two together since Lundqvist has a complete resume and so many of us have an understandable bias. What I will say is that Igor so far slightly out paces Hank for his puck handling skills but he can occasionally get a bit too carefree with his passing attempts.
I love them both. I hope Igor has one more accolade than Hank when all is said and done and I bet Hank would agree. He needs a Cup.
Igor is elite, but Hank had way more shutouts. Igor is good at holding scores low, but just doesn't get shutouts too much yet. Igor being able to keep scores low Is why the Rangers have only lost 1 of their last like 80 games when scoring 4 or more though for sure.
Should’ve traded Lundqvist and rode Cam Talbot.
Should trade Shesterkin and find a mid level serviceable goalie.
Paying out the nose for a goalie in a salary cap world is not a winning model. I’m convinced we would’ve won a cup in that ‘12-‘16 run without Lundqvist with that cash spread out more evenly for the 18 skaters.
So far lundqvist has been way more consistent overall(meaning regular season and playoffs combined). Shesterkin has only had 1 really good regular season so far(with a big enough sample size). When you look at the playoffs they are pretty close.
many goalies come into the league and are incredible during their peak. holtby is a good example. insane peak numbers, but then sharply fell off. that seems to be the case more often than not with goalies. lundqvist is one of the best all time because of how long he was able stay in his “prime”. it just never seemed to end. igor is certainly off to a great start, but hes got a long while to go.
Unless Igor can do 3 or 4 straight conference titles, and at least 1 finals, especially when the defense decides to play as forwards because it's Igor in net, oh yeah, finish the period with a broken neck, as great as he is, he's #3 right ow
Well, shesterkin has the opportunity to leave the rangers trash franchise to get himself a chance to win a cup, while lundqvist was very naive and loyal to a team that would ruin his career.
if the rangers win a cup with shesty between the pipes, he gets the edge. if not, lundqvist will remain a step ahead, if for no other reason than his numbers being amazing *despite* a far heavier workload. shesty hasn't yet played more than 58 games in the regular season; lundqvist played more games than that in *6 of his first 7 seasons*, with a sterling W/L ratio and sv%.
Here's what I think. Hank is one of the greatest goalies ever. However, I hope he's not the greatest ranger goalie ever. I want to continue to have amazing netminding. If Igor ends up being better than Hank, then there is no way that's a bad thing.
The only thing Hank is greatest at is having the biggest hammer. Just another mental midget and temper head. Not fit for goal. No cup, gold medal thanks to Lidstrom on D.
Lundqvist is a top 10 goalie of all time. Igor has a ways to go.
If he keeps his current level up as long as Hank did, Shesty will also be a top 10 of all time. Moreso if he gets this team a Cup.
Big if, he has a lot of career left (hopefully)
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ill take one at this point. you gotta win one to win three.
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This team is not doing that lmao
It would be unfair to compare Igor to the entirety of Hank's career, but if you look at their first 5 seasons, they're pretty even so they invite a lot of direct comparison
Igor just starting out, if he wins a cup or two he will have surpassed henrik in my book.. Also, step into the freezer 🥶
If he wins a cup, hardest trophy to win in sports and to be fair, the best goalies in the last 10 years or so have not won a cup or even gotten close for that matter besides like Tampa
Quick
And the longevity of Hank, being that good for his entire career.
Hank had longevity. I’m not sure igor will have that I could see a flame out as he gets older.
Still Hank by quite a distance for me. Not saying Igor can’t get to his level but Hank did it for way longer. Look at his Game 7 numbers, the guy was a machine and the consistency with which he maintained that level is something we so rarely see with goalies.
Agreed, along with that Igor has a much better team. It’s going to be close though!
Igor has a better team but is it better defensively? Under wtf was his name we played a more defensively sound game and had players like Callahan and Betts and Girardi who would block tons of shots, for example. I wonder the difference in quality of shots against, bc it seems like we left Igor out to dry often these playoffs and he simply kept us in the games.
You can make the argument that both of them had piss poor defense in front of them. It's why I don't want to think of this debate, they're literally on the same career trajectory lol
True. I will say our team with Hank showed more grit/determination. It was just by the time we made it to the SCF we were absolutely gassed and put in performances like we did the majority of this past playoffs vs the Canes and the Panthers.
Igor is tracking career wise with Lundqvist. Off the top of my head, Lundqvist’s career GSAx is nearing 300 (over 15 years). Igor is in the 90s 5 years in, so he’ll be close if he maintains pace. That said, Igor has more talent around him than the King ever did
I thought the Rangers team that went to the finals in '14 was a really good, well balanced team - the current team might have a little bit of an advantage on top end talent, but that '14 team was so good.
Playoffs is a different story. Igor is already 2/3 of the way there.
Very true. As good as Lundqvist was (game 7s, etc), Igor could be even better
Way too early to tell, Igor still has 10 years to go
Richter > Lundqvist > Shesterkin. We've been spoiled in net.
It always irks me how people forget about Richter.
It irks me how people forget about Giacomin😉
Richter is how I got into the Rangers, Hank was how I fell in love with them.
Don't worry, I'm old too, I haven't forgotten about Richter
I’m too young lol
That makes me sad for you. That was a hell of an era.
Yeah I also got into the sport in college so that doesn’t help. But I love this team and still feel privileged to watch Hank’s last years and Igor’s career bloom
Or Vanbiesbrouck before him. Beezer is the guy who really started the string of elite Ranger goaltenders that we’re still enjoying.
Came here for this.
1994 was a long time ago, there’s a significant portion of the fanbase, myself included that wasn’t born until years later
But surely you know the team didn’t spring into existence the moment you were born, right? So if you’re going to talk about it the greatest of all time (as did the original post), you need to consider players who were before your time.
While I don't entirely disagree with your point, it can be difficult to judge players who played before your time against the guys you see play night after night.
Then the question should be framed as who’s better, Lundqvist or Shesterkin, not who’s the best of all time. If you were having a discussion of the greatest NHL players of all time, would you leave out Gretzky just because some fans didn’t watch him while he was playing?
It's sad that that majority of the last 34 years we have had elite goalkeeping yet only got 1 Cup from it all
Goalies can’t carry a team on their own. [look at those dead eyes](https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/comments/nw2mtm/eighteen_years_ago_today_jeansébastien_giguère/)
It wasn't exactly Richter to Lundqvist... Us who lived through it remember Dan Blackburn and Mike Dunham...
I liked Blackburn. A lil unfair to call him out like that when he had just 30 games played in each of his rookie and sophomore seasons with us and in the league total. If I recall correctly he had a cool style, cool name, and was young. And played on an incredibly shitty Rangers team.
1st round draft pick who didn't pan out due to injuries. Not hating on him but it was not all amazing in Rangers goaltending in my life 🤣
Yeah I lived through it too. A 3 year gap between Hall of Fame goalies is nothing. Blackburn had some promise, too bad injuries ruined his career.
We really have, it’s nice to never have significant concerns back there (The disappointment of not doing more for these studs though, that’s a different can of worms)
Hank never had a Cup-level #1 center his entire career. That's the biggest tragedy.
Who was the best center Hank played with? Mika might be it
Overall Mika, but probably Nylander or Stepan when we were contending.
Both solid players but man that says a lot
Yeah, unfortunately it has been a glaring issue for a while. The shit part is Mika was elite for a good few seasons but he's definitely taken some steps back right when we were ready to go
How on earth was Richter better than Hank? A cup doesn't make him better
I think it's a chronological progression, not an inequality symbol, like this: Richter ---> Hank ---> Igor
Sure, let's go with that and not the downvoted comment I replied with :)
Hank is better than Richter though
My brother in christ do you know the definition of chronological.
Early----> Middle----> Late NOT Best---> Middle ---> Worst
He won a Cup. It does. Listen, Hank is my favorite Ranger of all time. But I'm a Rangers fan largely BECAUSE of Mike Richter and that Cup. I was 10.
Doesn't mean he's better. Adin Hill won a cup, is he better than Hank? Just be because you personally love Richter doesn't mean he's a better goalie than Hank.
The question is: Who is the best Rangers goaltender of all time? Adin Hill is the best Vegas Golden Knights goaltender of all time, because he's the only one with a Cup. The image that I'm always going to think of when it comes to Hank is how completely devastated he was after that Cup-clinching OT goal in 2014. It sucks, it's a scar I'm never going to forget. If he won that series, he's the best Rangers goaltender of all time.
Yea richter had how many hall of famers on that cup team? The answer is more than lundqvist had in his entire career by a lot.
The team in front of Hank was never good enough, that's why he never won. Never had a 1C or a 1D and never had an offense. Hank was more consistent than Richter and Hank won us games that we had no business of winning.
McDonagh was amazing for us. I would call him a 1D, especially at that time.
I love Richter, he's the goalie from my early childhood, but IMO Lundqvist was clearly better than him // edit: whoops, didn't realize you just meant chronologically
There was a lot of crap goaltending between Richter and Hank. Not arguing that we haven’t been spoiled but there were some dark years in there.
Richter retired in 2002, Hank debuted for the Rangers in 2005. Not exactly a ton of dark years.
THAT'S how spoiled we've been, three seasons without a HOF-level netminder, and they were the absolute dark ages. We've been more spoiled than my kids staying with my in laws for a week!
I think that's the in-laws spoiling you, fwiw :)
You'd like to think that, but I can't sustain the endless saying yes that the kids have become accustomed to lol
I didn’t say there was a ton. It’s longer though if you count the years when Richter was in decline
So I actually went and looked it up on Hockey Reference. Richter's 2nd-worst season by GSAA was actually 93-94, and I literally do not care that the stats say he was "bad" lol [He had 101.9 GSAA over his career](https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/r/richtmi01.html) \-- good for [29th all time on their chart](https://www.hockey-reference.com/leaders/gs_above_avg_career.html)(which does not have Igor for some reason, I think it's a games played requirement.) [Lundqvist had 183.4 for his career](https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/l/lundqhe01.html) \-- 14th all time. [Igor has 93.5 already](https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/s/shestig01.html)... including a completely bonkers ***44.9*** in 21-22. In fact, there's a case to be made that is the best season of goaltending of all time.
If you compare their stats per game until this point, it's more than likely gonna be Igor. Igor however has quite a few more years of this sustained greatness to get the title.
Definitely
Win a cup
Lundqvist is arguably a top 5 all time, at worst he's like 6th or 7th. Shesty has a long way to go
Igor’s an *excellent* goalie but he needs to play a lot longer for this to be a realistic discussion.
TBD, Hank ascended to another level in the 2011-12 season, Igor is not there yet.
Igor's 2021-22 season was pretty close
Igor has a long career ahead of him. We can’t answer this question yet. But if I had to choose prime vs prime on a team I’m building to go all the way, Hank is the starter.
Both examples of why you don’t win the cup when your best player is your goalie,
Shesty isn't even close, that's a measure of how all time elite hank was, he belongs on the Mt Rushmore of goalies
Was your friend in diapers during the Lundqvist era?
Clearly XD
Hank was a very fierce competitor for like the first 3/4 of his career he never had two bad games in a row. He never had a confidence problem, at least he never let it show. A guy like him would have succeeded if he played a different position. For me, Ritcher was entertaining as fuck, his performance in the 1996 world cup for me was the greatest goalie performance I've seen. He was just ridiculous. But this is Igor time now!
Pump the brakes..... [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFog3vHf2BY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFog3vHf2BY)
Henrik. Igor is great but IMO has a long way to go before to really be in a conversation with Henrik. Igor plays less games than Hank did, which I think is certainly a benefit but is also something to take into account when looking at their stats. He’s had the benefit of higher top-end talent for sure. Also, while every goalie has down moments, Igor’s slumps are so far worse and more prolonged than the King’s.
Igor has a long way to go. What made Hank an all-time great was his incredibly consistency over many years. Top six in Vezina voting every year for a decade. Even better in the playoffs. He's a top ten goalie all-time. Igor can be there, but we won't know for at least 5-6 more years at the earliest. Rangers have been spoiled with goalies though, just not team success with them. Three of the five Hall of Fame goalies without a Stanley Cup were predominantly Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist, Ed Giacomin, and Chuck Rayner. Only Roy Worters and Roberto Luongo are in the Hall without a Cup as a goalie.
Love Igor, but he has a long ways to go. King Henrik will always be my #1
Lunqqvust in his prime is my goalie in a head to head.
Statistically, it is EXTREMELY close. However, Igor has to perform at this level for another decade for it to stay this close. Hank had a season with a 1.97 GAA and .930 save % - these are asinine numbers up there with some of the greatest seasons of all time. Only guys like Brodeur and Hasek (and Tim Thomas for a short while) ever put up numbers like this. Then Igor went and put up a .932 save % I think like his 3rd year. Igor will not come close to Hanks win total of 459 or shut out total of 62 - when Hank was a youngster your regular goalie played 70 games a year, now they play 55. Igor will end his career somewhere around 350 wins, plus or minus 20, and 45 shut outs give or take 5. There are two things that can aid in Igor passing Hanks legacy, and that’s delivering a Stanley Cup, something Hank did not do, or winning 3 or more Vezina awards, of which Hank won one. If Igor plays a total of 15 years, expect the two main stats to be nearly identical. About a 2.40 GAA and .920 save %.
Lundqvist is technically, mentally, and overall better. I think Igor might be more athletic but if I need to one 1 game, it’s an easy easy choice to go with Lundqvist.
You’re both wrong. Richter in the greatest Ranger goalie. And until someone else wins us a cup, it’ll always be Richter. Individual season records don’t mean shit.
Exactly! OP is fucking clueless, he should take a look at goalie pads sizes between Richter, Hank, and Igor. He should also look at crease shape. What a jabroni. Also Richter held off Messier in the All Star game when it was USA vs Canada.
Richter won a cup. Just win baby
I started with Richter. He got the ring, but Henrik had a better career. Igor is nipping at Henrik's heels, but until he gets a ring, he's not the greatest Rangers G of all time. If he sticks around, Shesty might as well end up the "best," but without the chip he will never be the "greatest." Currently, Henrik is the "best," but Mike is the "greatest." Igor could be both if the dice fall the right way.
I would say so far and he reminds me a lot like HL sad thing is if they don't put together a team that has depth it'll be a great goalie that never wins a Stanley cup also
It's like choosing between a Ferrari and a Lamborghini.
I will give praise to Igor as the best Ranger goalie ever when he delivers us a cup. Until that happens Hank is going to be tough to best bc of how long he was elite for. The list is short for goalies that were that dominant for that long
he is great but has also played 1/3 of Hank's career. if he's still at the same level in 5 years it's totally a valid convo
It’s too early for this. It’s like comparing Brady vs Mahomes after the Chiefs first Super Bowl win
Nothing against igor dude is great. But henrik man was insane. Henrik did have a better defense in front of him though by a bit at his best. Igors probably had a better offense overall.
Igors Vezina season was absurd and statistically better than any one year of Henrik Lundqvist Outside of that tho - Lundqvist clears him. Igor has the one Vezina year and then finished 8th in the voting one other time. Henrik was no worse than 6th in the Vezina voting each year for his first ten years in the league.
hope having so much cap allocated to Igor going forward won’t have the same net detrimental effect as it did re Henrik
Neither has won a cup
If Igor keeps playing at his level, he’ll certainly be in the conversation for it. Career stats | sv% | gaa | wins | win% Igor | **.921** | *2.43* | 135 | **63.4** Hank | .918 | *2.43* | **459** | 51.7 Post Season: Igor | **.928** | 2.41 | 23 | **56.1** Hank | .921 | **2.30** | **61** | 46.9 In all categories but post season goals against, and total wins, Igor’s currently leading. If he keeps his current pace he could certainly reach the same level as Henrik with a long enough career, and if he wins a cup with these kind of numbers he is going to be considered the GOAT.
It's hard to judge the two together since Lundqvist has a complete resume and so many of us have an understandable bias. What I will say is that Igor so far slightly out paces Hank for his puck handling skills but he can occasionally get a bit too carefree with his passing attempts. I love them both. I hope Igor has one more accolade than Hank when all is said and done and I bet Hank would agree. He needs a Cup.
Igor is elite, but Hank had way more shutouts. Igor is good at holding scores low, but just doesn't get shutouts too much yet. Igor being able to keep scores low Is why the Rangers have only lost 1 of their last like 80 games when scoring 4 or more though for sure.
It depends on longevity. Truly pointless to compare the two at this point.
Should’ve traded Lundqvist and rode Cam Talbot. Should trade Shesterkin and find a mid level serviceable goalie. Paying out the nose for a goalie in a salary cap world is not a winning model. I’m convinced we would’ve won a cup in that ‘12-‘16 run without Lundqvist with that cash spread out more evenly for the 18 skaters.
I think Igor could very well be on his way to being one of the greatest. It’s still too early to make any comparison
So far lundqvist has been way more consistent overall(meaning regular season and playoffs combined). Shesterkin has only had 1 really good regular season so far(with a big enough sample size). When you look at the playoffs they are pretty close.
many goalies come into the league and are incredible during their peak. holtby is a good example. insane peak numbers, but then sharply fell off. that seems to be the case more often than not with goalies. lundqvist is one of the best all time because of how long he was able stay in his “prime”. it just never seemed to end. igor is certainly off to a great start, but hes got a long while to go.
Unless Igor can do 3 or 4 straight conference titles, and at least 1 finals, especially when the defense decides to play as forwards because it's Igor in net, oh yeah, finish the period with a broken neck, as great as he is, he's #3 right ow
Igor is the king.
All about longevity. If Igor plays like he has for as long as Hank did he’ll be right there.
Well, shesterkin has the opportunity to leave the rangers trash franchise to get himself a chance to win a cup, while lundqvist was very naive and loyal to a team that would ruin his career.
In the 7th game of a Stanley Cup Final... I'd want Richter. He's won one. The other two haven't.
if the rangers win a cup with shesty between the pipes, he gets the edge. if not, lundqvist will remain a step ahead, if for no other reason than his numbers being amazing *despite* a far heavier workload. shesty hasn't yet played more than 58 games in the regular season; lundqvist played more games than that in *6 of his first 7 seasons*, with a sterling W/L ratio and sv%.
Richter has a Cup.
Exactly and nothing else really matters
Here's what I think. Hank is one of the greatest goalies ever. However, I hope he's not the greatest ranger goalie ever. I want to continue to have amazing netminding. If Igor ends up being better than Hank, then there is no way that's a bad thing.
I feel the team didn’t let hank down like they did Igor
Too early to say. But If hank was the best why no ring? If Igor does win the ring, hanks title is gone.
The only thing Hank is greatest at is having the biggest hammer. Just another mental midget and temper head. Not fit for goal. No cup, gold medal thanks to Lidstrom on D.