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Tortorella, Zibanejad, team awards and more

BySteve Paulus|
SUNRISE, FL - APRIL 23: Head coach John Tortorella of the New York Rangers watches action in the Florida Panthers zone during the third period at the BB&T Center on April 23, 2013 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers defeated the Rangers 3-2. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FL - APRIL 23: Head coach John Tortorella of the New York Rangers watches action in the Florida Panthers zone during the third period at the BB&T Center on April 23, 2013 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers defeated the Rangers 3-2. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
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The Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award is presented to Adam Fox #23 of the New York Rangers . (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
The Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award is presented to Adam Fox #23 of the New York Rangers . (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Team awards

Adam Fox added the Rangers’ team MVP award to his resume to go along with the Steven McDonald Award.  Since the MVP award is voted on by the media and the McDonald Award comes from the fans, it’s a consensus that Fox was the team’s best player.

Fox is still the NHL’s top point getter among defenseman with 47 though he could be passed by Edmonton’s Tyson Barrie who has 46 points and two more games to play.   He will probably finish sixth among all skaters in assists with 42.

As previously discussed, Ryan Lindgren got the Players’ Player Award, voted by his teammates.   Brendan Smith got the John Halligan Good Guy Award for his cooperation with the media.  In a season with no locker room or player access, Smith’s honesty in media Zoom calls was refreshing.   The highlight was after the Capitals melee when a reporter asked Smith if he thought the team was “soft.”  Smith fired right back. “Do you think we’re soft?”  Of course, the reporter said no, when the answer is somewhere in between.

Smith is an Unrestricted Free Agent, after being overpaid for the last four years.   He could come back if he is willing to take a substantial cut in pay on a one year deal. He would lend a veteran presence and versatility to the locker room and is certainly a better option than a Jack Johnson. Then again, the Rangers could probably do better. While we all lauded him for taking on Tom Wilson, let’s not forget that awful giveaway when he handed the puck to Daniel Sprong of the Capitals, all alone in front of the Rangers net for an uncontested goal.

The World Championships

The IIHF World Championships are scheduled for May 21 in Riga, Latvia.  So far there is no word of any Rangers taking part with the only news being that Alexis Lafrenière is not going to play for Canada and Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller will not be playing for the United States.

With the team still breaking up, we should expect to hear if any players will be participating.  There are a number of players who could play if they want to.  The compact NHL schedule along with COVID-19 travel considerations are affecting participation.

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