Alexandar Georgiev has been looking for an opportunity to be a starter for quite some time. This summer it appears he will get it one way or another.
On July 13th, the 26 year-old netminder becomes a restricted free agent with salary arbitration rights. He is owed a qualifying offer of $2.65M which is not a number the New York Rangers can afford due to limited cap space and a need to sign several key free agents.
That leaves GM Chris Drury with two options:
A) Find a trading partner at the draft
or
B) Do not extend the qualifying offer and let him walk as a UFA
In preparation for this summer, Georgiev switched agents from Octagon represented by Robert Hooper and Mike Liut to Gerry Johansson with TSC Hockey mid-season.
The New York Rangers will be looking at the UFA market for an affordable back up. You can see some options here.
Alexandar Georgiev’s run with Rangers at an end
Georgiev was rumored to be asking for a trade dating back to last offseason. It must’ve been difficult for him seeing Igor Shesterkin come in late during the 2019-20 and dominate. Especially after backing up Henrik Lundqvist for two seasons prior.
I mean in reality, how many teams go from one future Hall of Fame goalie to another that quickly?
“There’s only one way to be in game rhythm is to play,” Georgiev said during a slump this season. “We’ve been doing some drills with [Benoit Allaire] and working hard in practice. I don’t know what else we can do. That’s maybe for us to think about.”
While Georgiev struggled early on, he did finish with a solid 15-10-2 record. His GAA was decent at 2.92 and he had an .898 SV%, with 2 shutouts. What stands out about his season was from March 15 on, he went 8-1-0 with a 2.45 GAA and a .909 SV%.
What is Alexandar Georgiev trade value?
Despite his struggles, Georgiev had reported interest from at least two teams during the season. Both the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers wanted to trade for his services.
It was believed at the time that Edmonton was willing to part with a third-round pick but Chris Drury didn’t bite. As to why not? Some thought the Rangers were looking for a higher pick, but trading away a solid backup on a playoff team made little to no sense without a replacement already lined up.
So what can the Rangers reasonably get for Georgiev now?
One thing is clear, Georgiev plays better when he gets more playing time. Whomever is going to trade for him will need to consider giving him a shot as the starting goalie. At worst, an even split with another netminder.
The Vegas Golden Knights may not be that team, but the Edmonton Oilers absolutely should be. Of course, if they are the only ones interested the Rangers won’t get much. That’s why Chris Drury is calling all possible teams that may be looking for a goalie to generate a market.
If he can’t get at least 3 or 4 teams interested, the one or two teams that are may just wait for him to hit UFA status. They may be even able to sign him a tad bit cheaper than his $2.65M qualifying offer if it’s a 3 year deal.
Should Drury be able to drum up a market for him by the draft, then a third-round pick is a nice return. Keep in mind that the Rangers are basically trading his rights and the acquiring team is assuming some risk.
Georgiev does not have to sign the qualifying offer and may opt to go to arbitration for a one-year award. That means he could become a UFA in the summer of 2023.
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