By Jeff Nagle
With the ODBHL Salary Cap projected to drop $4 million, the Riverview Royals had to do some major overhauling of their salary cap situation. Hard decisions had to be made and all costs had to be scrutinized. At the end of the day, only core players were extended while the rest have been left to chance on the open market.
This morning, the Royals extended veteran goaltender Igor Shesterkin to a 1 year deal worth $7.3m. The extension added $1.05m to his cap hit, but with the veteran goaltender market so competitive, the Royals had no choice but to ante up. Shesterkin is likely going to be a mentor for Craig Anderson who himself inked a 5 year extension last week worth $4.7m per season. Committing $12m in cap space to their goaltending was certainly not on their bingo cards, however, the Royals window is open now and to have a glaring weakness in net was not an option.
With RFA Shakir Mukhamadullin extended for 3 seasons at $5.4m per season and RFA Dave Andreychuk extended for 5 seasons at $4.2m per season, the core is intact for the forseable future. However, RFA forwards Joel Farabee and Roby Jarventie will not be extended and will be left to find offers elsewhere. The Royals are hedging their bets that neither player finds lucrative offers elsewhere. If they do, the Royals could find themselves in a jam as both young forwards have been key contributors this season for the Royals.
"We're in the thick of it for sure. It's been a challenging signing season since the announcement of the salary cap drop. As a team on the rise, this drop in cap will certainly take its toll on our roster, but we're up for the task. We have a young core that is ready to make the leap and make up for whatever we lose this year." said GM Nagle
6/24/2026 - 316 words
