Marty Biron is well aware how devastating Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending knee injury is to the New York Rangers and their playoff hopes in 2026-27. But he had an interesting take when asked on the Rink Rap podcast whether Shesterkin’s injury or the New Jersey Devils recent acquisition of Connor Hellebuyck has a bigger impact on the Metropolitan Division playoff race this season.

“I’m going to say Connor Hellebuyck because already there were people saying the Rangers weren’t going to be a playoff team (even before Shesterkin’s injury),” Biron told Forever Blueshirts. “I was not one of them. I had the Rangers at three (in the division) — Carolina, Washington, New York Rangers. That’s how I saw it. Last year was not a good year but with Shesterkin they’re going to bounce back was my thinking.

“Without Shesterkin, it’s going to be a lot harder. Especially with Hellebuyck going to New Jersey.”

The top three teams in each division land a postseason berth, and then there are two wild-card entrants in each conference. Coming off two straight years missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Rangers are no lock to get back in this spring, and that was even so with a healthy Shesterkin as their No. 1 goalie for the 84-game regular-season grind.

Without him? Certainly not impossible. But infinitely more difficult.

“It absolutely stinks that Shesterkin is injured and out for the year,” Biron stated.

The former NHL goalie, who played 508 games in the League including 46 as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup with the Rangers from 2010-13 and is now an analyst for the Buffalo Sabres, TSN, RDS, and NHL Network Radio, added that he believes rookie Dylan Garand is “a really, really solid goalie” and that he has faith in the Garand-Joonas Korpisalo tandem once Korpisalo returns to full health in the coming weeks.

He also believes that the Rangers will be on the market for a goalie with an expiring contract, maybe even by “the holidays” in December, should things go south with their goaltending.

“I don’t think they wait until the [trade] deadline, if that’s the case.” Biron said.

Perhaps stating the obvious, Biron added that the Rangers must consistently play a much-tighter overall defensive game than they’ve shown during their current three-game losing streak in order to stay relevant in the playoff race the rest of the way. And that’s no matter who’s in goal for them.

Marty Biron believes Devils acquiring Hellebuyck more impactful on Metro playoff race than Rangers losing Shesterkin

Getting back to the original question posed to Biron, in his eyes, the Rangers were already viewed as a fringe playoff team. And the Devils were viewed as a talented team, though one with a glaring hole between the pipes, after they traded Jacob Markstrom to the Florida Panthers in the offseason.

Now, to be fair, Hellebuyck is not only a massive upgrade over Jake Allen and Nico Daws, who began the season sharing the net in New Jersey (Daws was part of the return package to acquire Hellebuyck from the Winnipeg Jets) but is far better than Markstrom, as well.

So, his addition is a huge difference-maker, one that has ripple down effect on the rest of the division and conference.

“The Devils were No. 1 in expected goals against, but 29th in goals saved above [expected], Biron explained. “So, let me put this in plain old English: The Devils defend well, but they were giving up too many goals, and that’s because of goaltending.

“I’m not going to blame Jake Allen … he’s had a nice career. But he’s in New Jersey as a support guy, a backup. So, you end up getting the best goalie available, and one of the top-five goalies in the past decade in the NHL, and a guy that’s won three Vezina’s and a Hart [Trophy] to be your goaltender and you’re already a good defending team? This is a match made in heaven right now.”

How big of an impact can the 33-year-old make on the Devils, who passed the Rangers this week and sit third in the Metropolitan Division?

“I was laughed at on social media because I said that this makes the Devils a [Stanley Cup] contender in the NHL. ‘Oh c’mon, the Devils aren’t a contender.’ No, the Devils are a contender. To me that’s more of an impact than Shesterkin’s injury.”