​Like many in hockey circles, Dave Maloney expected the New York Rangers to add a veteran goalie to push Dylan Garand for the right to back up Igor Shesterkin next season. What he didn’t foresee was the magnitude of the Rangers’ move, a deal that could even push Garand out of the running entirely.
On July 1, the Rangers pulled off a trade with the Boston Bruins to acquire Joonas Korpisalo. The 32-year-old goalie has 334 NHL games under his belt and spent the last two seasons as Boston’s No. 2 behind Jeremy Swayman. He also comes with two years left on his contract, carrying an annual cap hit of $3 million. “I was only surprised at the financial commitment,” Maloney told Forever Blueshirts on the Rink Rap podcast. “Now the cap is rising, the Rangers have cap space, and you’re getting a guy with experience.”
That development doesn’t bode well for Garand, the 24-year-old who many believe merits a legitimate chance to be the club’s No. 2 on New York’s depth chart after an impressive late-season NHL cameo and four years in the AHL. “Does he deserve a chance at the next level, and is three games enough?” mused the former Rangers captain and longtime MSG Network analyst. “He was electric in those moments, with a stylish, almost Fleury-esque flair. He darts to the corners, and the mannerisms remind you of Marc-Andre Fleury. The key question is whether three games at the end of a season that was already effectively over is enough to earn a 30-game backup role.”
Garand did receive significant praise from head coach Mike Sullivan and teammates, including Shesterkin, after a promising start to his NHL stint. He went 2-0-1 with a 1.62 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage in his first three starts from March 22 to April 15. Entering the offseason as a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, Garand signed a two-year, $1.75 million contract on June 21. He has shown he believes he’s ready for regular NHL duty. The 2020 fourth-round pick (No. 103 overall) highlighted his progress by starring in the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic and winning 20 games for Hartford that season. He overcame a slow start in the previous year and finished strong, posting excellent numbers down the stretch as he helped a Hartford club that finished last in the AHL standings.
Garand’s potential fate now hinges on how New York structures its roster. Some observers wonder if the Rangers might begin with three goalies, given they have the cap space to do so, before settling on Shesterkin’s backup. That option becomes more feasible when you consider that both Garand and Korpisalo would require waivers to be sent to Hartford. More probable, however, is that Korpisalo will be kept with the NHL club to open the season, leaving Garand in a position where he hopes to escape waivers and be claimed back. In that scenario, the Rangers would prefer Garand to remain unclaimed, preserving a valuable asset with potential upside behind Shesterkin.
In the immediate term, Korpisalo’s arrival does raise the stakes for Garand. It complicates the competition for the backup role and leaves Garand facing the reality that his path to consistent NHL duty may depend on the organization’s broader plans for depth at the position. If Garand can maintain his level of play and seize any opportunity that arises during preseason and early-season action, he could still carve out a meaningful role. But with Korpisalo in the fold and a growing salary-cap cushion behind the Rangers, the calculus has shifted. The question now is whether the organization views Garand as a long-term solution the way they once did, or as a talented asset whose best path to NHL ice time may lie elsewhere.