Six years before franchise icon Henrik Lundqvist would retire with a franchise-record 489 wins, the team drafted Igor Shesterkin in 2014. As the team prepared for The King’s eventual retirement, Shesterkin had plenty of time to develop in Russia before making his highly anticipated debut in 2020.
Now the sole heir to the crease of one of the most iconic Original Six teams, Shesterkin rewarded the New York faithful with a Vezina Trophy win in his second full season in 2021-22. Historically, he beat Lundqvist, who took seven seasons to win the award, and the victory gave him more hardware than Mike Richter, who never took home an NHL award during his career.