The ship has a hole in the starboard but it’s not sinking yet.
Dylan Garand has been slapped over the leak like makeshift duct tape in one of those gimmicky infomercials. At least that’s how the Rangers front office seems to be thinking about the situation. Garand was offered up to the whole league for free via waivers as recently as a few weeks ago. Luckily for everyone involved, he wasn’t claimed. A quick cup of coffee in Hartford with the Wolf Pack and he’s called right back up.
This is all after the Rangers acquired Joonas Korpisalo over the summer with two years left on his $4M per year contract. Chris Drury has a history of slotting veterans into that backup spot — first Jaroslav Halák, then Jonathan Quick. It may not have been an indictment on Garand’s standing within the organization, but you wouldn’t blame him for taking it that way. Garand had just finished his fourth full season in the AHL and was a known, cheaper in-house option. Were the Rangers ever going to hand him the backup job in training camp after going out and acquiring a veteran a few months prior? Almost definitely not.
With Igor Shesterkin out for the year and Korpisalo conveniently also hurt, the tables have turned. The keys to the city have been (reluctantly?) handed over to Garand.
This whole saga is more unfair than not to Garand. He’s been nothing but steady and professional when called upon. Through six starts he’s 4-1-1 with a 1.43 GAA, a .947 save percentage and a shutout earlier this season in Detroit. Albeit a small sample size, those are numbers you’d pay a premium for in a backup goalie.
He seems uber confident in his abilities and more than ready to step into the spotlight as the workhorse. The sly smirk on his face when asked about the situation (and about Igor) was a bit strange. But to his credit, he said all the right things. Goalies are different cats. You tend to give their mannerisms a pass.
The Connor Hellebuyck trade rumors are predictable noise but I don’t buy that there’s much signal there. Either way, I’m firmly against it. Igor obviously plans on coming back and acquiring another starting-caliber goaltender while your franchise goalie is rehabbing sends the wrong message — to Igor, to the locker room, to the league. Beyond that, it’s just poor asset management. The idea that you could acquire Hellebuyck and then neatly flip him in whatever window aligns with Igor’s return is wishful thinking. Any general manager with a pulse knows the Rangers would have zero leverage in that negotiation. Opposing GMs could sit back and wait for the “Igor or Helle??” narrative to reach a fever pitch before fielding a lowball offer.
Besides, Korpisalo should be back in roughly four weeks anyway. Drury paid him to be the insurance policy in exactly this scenario. No need to solve the same problem twice.
This all reminds me of the 2014-2015 season when Cam Talbot stepped in for an injured Henrik Lundqvist. Fitting that Garand wears number 33 — same as Talbot did. Lundqvist missed roughly 25 games from February through March after a freak injury where a puck snuck under his mask and partially tore a blood vessel in his neck. Talbot stepped in and honestly stole the show. He posted a record of 16-4-3, a 2.16 GAA and a .929 save percentage with a few shutouts along the way. The Rangers went on to win the President’s Trophy that year and Talbot walked away with the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award for holding down the fort in such heroic fashion.
I even remember fans wanting to stick with Talbot when Lundqvist was ready to return. Utter nonsense — but the fact that narrative existed at all tells you everything about the caliber of Talbot’s run. His performance gained recognition leaguewide and he was ultimately traded to Edmonton that summer to try his hand as a true number one. After stops in Philadelphia, Calgary, Minnesota, Ottawa, Los Angeles and Detroit — the 39-year-old Talbot is still kicking with Columbus. Some careers age like fine wine and it all began with a stint as Lundqvist’s cameo.
Garand is well aware the Rangers brass didn’t make this easy for him. You could argue they gave up on him entirely. But if he’s smart, he understands the golden opportunity sitting in front of him. Showcase your abilities in one of the biggest markets in the world, prove the doubters wrong and make the front office look foolish for putting him on waivers. Maybe he’ll follow the Cam Talbot blueprint and find himself shipped out west this summer to chase the starting job he clearly believes he deserves.
Against a slightly inferior opponent in Vancouver on Sunday, he was solid in a 6-2 win. The degree of difficulty goes up considerably with Tampa next. But as Garand would tell you — the only thing left to do is stop the puck.
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