10 most expensive goalie contracts in NHL history after Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin signs massive deal

After spending six years in the Los Angeles Kings organization and winning the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2012, Jonathan Quick signed a huge 10-year contract extension. Though it only carried an AAV of $5.8 million, the deal in total was worth $58 million, earning Quick the No. 10 spot on this list. Quick won his second Stanley Cup championship in the first year of this deal in 2014, and played with the Kings for nine seasons out of the 10-year contract. In the 10th season, he was traded before the deadline to the Vegas Golden Knights to serve as their backup, and earned his third Stanley Cup ring in that role. He then signed with his favorite childhood team, the New York Rangers, and has had a resurgence in his career, serving as Igor Shesterkin’s No. 2.

Connor Hellebuyck has been the Winnipeg Jets mainstay between the pipes since the 2015-16 season and carried a heavy workload for them ever since. He’s reached the 60-games played plateau five times, including in each of the past three seasons. He set an NHL career-high with 67 games played in 2017-18, when he also had a career-high .924 save percentage. The two-time Vezina Trophy-winner signed a seven-year, $8.5 million AAV extension in Oct. of 2023, and it kicked in with the 2024-25 season.

Hall of Fame goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was once the highest-paid goalie in the NHL. “The King” signed a seven-year extension with the Rangers in December of 2013 carrying an AAV of $8.5 million. Lundqvist played for six of those seven seasons in New York, before his contract was bought, and he had to retire prematurely because of a heart condition. Lundqvist earned that big salary. His numbers were incredible: a 495-310-96 record, .918 save percentage and 2.43 goals-against average, along with one Vezina Trophy (2011-12). Lundqvist had a .921 save percentage and a 2.30 GAA in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and won an NHL record six Game 7s in a row. He is the all-time winningest European-born goaltender in NHL history and is sixth among all goalies in wins. His No. 30 hangs in the rafters at Madison Square Garden.

Juuse Saros earned a well-deserved extension with the Nashville Predators, signing an eight-year deal that carries an AAV of $7.74 million on July 1, 2024. Saros apprenticed under Pekka Rinne to begin his career, then took over as Nashville’s next great No. 1 goalie. Since then, he’s had a save percentage above .900 in every season he’s played, with an NHL career-high of .927 in 2020-21. Saros has started 60+ games three straight season heading into 2024-25.

After a good deal of controversy regarding his contract status in the summer of 2024, Jeremy Swayman and the Boston Bruins reached an agreement on an eight-year deal with an AAV of $8.25 million on Oct. 6 to end his holdout. Swayman won the starting job over Linus Ullmark, who was traded to the Ottawa Senators and signed a contract with an identical AAV, but a term of only four years. That pair helped the Bruins win the Jennings Trophy in 2022-23 for allowing the fewest goals in the NHL. Swayman has never played more than 44 games in a season, achieved in 2023-24, but is now No. 1 in Boston.

Ilya Sorokin signed the exact same deal as Swayman, eight years at an AAV of $8.25 million with the New York Islanders, except did so first, on July 1, 2023. Sorokin quickly made a name for himself with the Islanders, playing 52 games and earning an NHL career-high .925 save percentage in just his second season with the franchise in 2021-22. The following season, he was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy.

Sergei Bobrovsky signed a massive contract in free agency with the Florida Panthers in July of 2019, a seven-year deal with an AAV of $10 million. Bobrovsky won the Vezina Trophy twice with the Columbus Blue Jackets before signing in Florida, and most recently won the Stanley Cup with the Panthers in 2024, cementin his place as one of the top goalies of his generation.

Andrei Vasilevskiy is signed to an eight-year contract with an AAV of $9.5 million that expires after the 2027-28 season. After signing this deal in 2019, Vasilevskiy backstopped the Tampa Bay Lightning to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021, and a third straight trip to the Cup Final in 2022. He’s led Tampa Bay to the playoffs every season of his career except one (2016-17). Vasilevskiy also won the Vezina Trophy in 2018-19 and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2021.

Another Vezina Trophy-winner on this list, Carey Price signed an eight-year deal with an AAV of $10.5 million in July of 2017 with the Montreal Canadiens. Unfortunately due to a brutal knee injury, Price has not played since the 2021-22 season, and that was only for five games. While not officially retired, Price is on LTIR until his contract expires following the 2025-26 season. Price once dominated the NHL, posting a 1.96 GAA, .933 save percentage and nine shutouts in 2014-15. That season, he not only won the Vezina Trophy, but the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP and Ted Lindsay Award (MVP as voted by the players).

Igor Shesterkin has been the backbone of the Rangers since replacing Lundqvist as No. 1 in 2020-21. He became the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history when he agreed to a massive eight-year, $92 million contract extension in December of 2024. It’s also the richest deal in Rangers history, in total value. The deal carries an AAV of $11.5 million along with a full no-move clause. The 2021-22 Vezina Trophy-winner as top NHL goalie is locked up with the Rangers until the 2033-34 season, when he will be 37 years old.