New York Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin put aside team rivalries with New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin for a training session over the weekend where the two Russian ice hockey players were videoed pushing an SUV.
The video posted to Shesterkin’s Instagram Stories on Sunday showed the players pushing the luxury vehicle through an empty parking lot.
Despite the storied rivalry between the two teams, Shesterkin and Sorokin have a long history outside their respective organizations.
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According to the New York Post, the pair has known each other since they were 16 and played together in their native Russia. Sorokin is even the godfather of Shesterkin’s son.
Sorokin finalized an eight-year $66 million contract extension earlier this month after being named a Vezina Trophy finalist and helping the Islanders reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs after failing to qualify the previous year.
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He posted a 31-22-7 record and .924 save percentage which placed him among the top three NHL goaltenders with at least 25 starts.
"It's obvious that you don't want a player of his stature to go into the last year of his contract," Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said, via NHL.com. "I think it's a lot of pressure on the player... Ilya wanted to be here. We wanted Ilya to be here. There's no better time to do it."
Shesterkin, the 2022 Vezina Trophy winner, is coming off another disappointing season for the Rangers, who were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs despite taking a 2-0 series lead over the New Jersey Devils. But the 2022-2023 season was a good year for Shesterkin individually.
He finished with a 37-13-8 record and posted a .916 save percentage. He became the seventh Rangers netminder to be selected for the NHL All-Star Game this year, where he joined Sorokin as teammates for the Metropolitan Division.
