Sidney Crosby-haters among Rangers fans may have to owe the Penguins captain a note of thanks.
The trick is that Sid-The-No-Longer-A-Kid may have ensured that Igor Shesterkin remains a Ranger. Here’s how:
Crosby, the Penguins’ balance-wheel ever since he arrived in Pittsburgh, just signed a new contract for an astonishingly low $8.7 million.
Mind you, we’re talking about The Superb One – a multi-Stanley Cup-winner; a sure Hall of Famer who’ll go down in NHL annals in a class with Rocket Richard, Jean Beliveau, Mark Messier and Bobby Orr. among other aces.
He signed for bargain bucks for a reason; Crosby did it for the team. Are you listening, Iggy: HE DID IT FOR THE TEAM. (Can you do that, Sir Goalkeeper?)
Sidney is providing his GM Kyle Dubas with Cap room to lift his downtrodden sextet back into the rarified playoff realm. And the hope here is that the message seeps into Shesterkin’s cranium.
If Shesterkin really cares about his Blueshirts TEAM future, he’ll do Chris Drury a favor by settling for something like Crosby’s $8 mil.