2021-22 New York Rangers team MVP final thoughts

After writing about the tightly contested race for the New York Rangers 2021-22 Team MVP last week, many Blue Line Station fans recently gave their own opinions about the possible candidates.

Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba, and Igor Shesterkin were my potential finalists for the award, and because there are numerous games left to be played, it’s normal for people to have differing opinions about who deserves this honor the most.

Panarin is instrumental for the offense’s success, Kreider is a vital goal-scorer and veteran influence, Fox dominates every facet of the game, Trouba has developed into an off the ice leader and solid two-way contributor, and Shesterkin is the backbone of the entire team in net.

My final prediction is that, assuming he remains healthy going forward, Shesterkin will emerge on top. After a 4-0 masterclass victory over the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning to kick off 2022, he picked up right where he left off before his injury and collected his second shutout of the season and fourth of his young career.

Even before this win, the general consensus from our Twitter poll suggests that out of 33 Blue Line Station voters, 60.6% agreed with my argument. Shesterkin finished first out of four candidates, Fox came in second with 24.2%, Kreider placed third with 9.1%, and Panarin ended with 6.1% of the votes.

Now onto the comments from the actual story itself, other readers had thoughts about not only the players, but the subject at hand.

First, shoutout to @AndrewMadura for his comment saying that our wonderful site editor, Steve Paulus, “has the award wrapped up.” If there was a Rangers Media MVP title, Mr. Paulus would certainly be a top candidate due to his dedication and content, but I digress.

Back to hockey, most of the readers agreed that it is way too early to accurately choose a team MVP. The last section of my original article specified this discussion could be much different by the end of April, but nonetheless, the amount of players to consider compared to years’ past will make this race even more exciting come playoff time.

@RichardPrescott brought up in his comment that because of the amount of star power and talent this season’s Rangers squad possesses, as well as how the team plays as one cohesive unit, there is no MVP at the moment. He even goes on to say that up to nine players could be the team MVP, just like how difficult it still is to name a team captain.

One member of the comment section, @JackieLee271, did pick Kreider, which could become even more plausible if the winger strings along performances like the stellar three-assist night he secured vs. Tampa Bay.

In addition to the five original candidates, do not be surprised if other players jump into the race, as Mika Zibanejad already got off to an excellent start in 2022 by scoring his eighth career hat trick and seventh in New York. Because of the depth of this team, others such as Ryan Strome and Kaapo Kakko could even squeak into the crowded field with excellent second half performances.

Although the Twitter poll is now closed, feel free to write in the comments below about any final thoughts you may have about the future of this team MVP title. Also, be sure to keep these two stories in mind when the award is finally handed out a few months from now.