Rangers checked on Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz and his $3.75M cap hit, per Darren Dreger

The New York Rangers have kicked tires on Anthony Stolarz, and Thursday night's 7-1 loss in New Jersey just made that phone call a lot louder.

TSN insider Darren Dreger reported this week that New York explored a move for the Maple Leafs goaltender after Igor Shesterkin's season-ending knee injury.

Exploring isn't offering. But the Rangers crease looks thin right now, and Chris Drury knows it.

Joonas Korpisalo is on IR with a lower-body injury and isn't expected back until at least November 9. That leaves Dylan Garand, 24, carrying the load.

Garand had been solid before Thursday. He's 3-2 with a .915 save percentage and a shutout through five appearances.

Then the Devils got to him, and he was pulled in the second period for Spencer Martin. Martin didn't slow anything down, finishing with an .833 save percentage in his lone appearance.

So why is Drury shopping at all? New York sits 6-3-0, yet the Rangers are just 1-3-0 on the road heading into tonight's game in Columbus.

Toronto's shaky crease makes this a risky Rangers bet

Stolarz owns a .875 save percentage through five appearances this season. For a team trying to replace a .927 goalie, that's a tough sell.

This is a bad fit. Replacing Shesterkin with this version of the Leafs netminder is like your transmission dying and buying a backup car with the check-engine light already blinking.

The money stacks up fast. Shesterkin counts $11,567,857 against the cap, while Korpisalo sits at $4,000,000.

Add the $3,750,000 the Toronto goalie carries, and New York would have $19,317,857 committed to the crease in a season without its starter.

And Toronto isn't exactly flush in net. Sergei Bobrovsky is 38, carries a $7,000,000 cap hit and owns a .896 save percentage.

Jim Hiller's club is 3-3-2 and has dropped two straight, including Thursday's 5-4 overtime loss to Buffalo.

The Maple Leafs have scored 28 goals and allowed 28. Trading half of that tandem in October would leave them leaning harder on a 38-year-old.

New York has already hedged. Hartford signed James Reimer to a professional tryout on October 15, cheap insurance that costs Drury nothing at the trade table.

Mike Sullivan has insisted expectations haven't changed without Shesterkin. Thursday's blowout makes that message harder to sell in the locker room.

There's a scheduling twist, too. The Rangers visit Toronto next Thursday, October 22, for the first meeting between the clubs this season.

A strong Garand night in Columbus buys Drury time. Another meltdown, and he may be dialing the same front office whose rink he walks into on Thursday.

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