The New York Rangers hand out a number of team awards as the season draw to a close. While these are not as prestigious as the NHL awards they are special to the players and their fans. Of course, we have high hopes for at least one league award as Igor Shesterkin is the favorite for the Vezina Trophy and if Gerard Gallant is not the Jack Adam Trophy winner, it will be highway robbery. We’ve already reported that Chris Kreider is a deserving nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.
Here’s who won the team awards.
Players’ Player Award: Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba
This one is perhaps the most meaningful to the players as they are the ones who vote for the winner. The Players’ Player Award is an annual award given to the player “who best exemplifies what it means to be a team player.” The award has been handed out since the 1958-59 season.
The award was given to two players, Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba, both well deserving of the honor. It was the 10th time that the honor was given to two teammates, clearly the players couldn’t make up their minds. Last year’s winner was Ryan Lindgren and he followed Jesper Fast who won the award for five straight seasons.
Rangers MVP: Igor Shesterkin
The Rangers MVP award is an annual award given to the team’s most valuable player as determined by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association members who cover the Blueshirts. There were a few deserving candidates for this award, but Igor Shesterkin was a no brainer of a choice though any other season it would have been Chris Kreider.
Besides being the leading candidate to win the Vezina Trophy for his individual statistics, Shesterkin’s excellence has allowed his teammates to be aggressive offensively, knowing that he is there to back them up. He follows Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad, the last three winners.
It’s been awarded since the 1941-42 season. Henrik Lundqvist won the award a record nine times including seven years in a row from 2007 to 2013. Let’s see if Shesterkin can go on a similar run.
John Halligan Good Guy Award: Ryan Strome
Named for the former Rangers public relations director, the John Halligan Good Guy Award is an annual award which “recognizes a player for their cooperation with the media throughout the season” as selected by the Rangers beat writers.
Ryan Strome won the award this year, another year that reporters were not allowed in the Rangers’ locker room. Strome made frequent appearances at the news conferences after games and practices and didn’t avoid the limelight and tough questions after losses. His candor was refreshing and he stayed away from cliches.
Brendan Smith won the award last season, which has been given out since the 1974-75 season. It was renamed after Halligan after his death in 2010. There have been no repeat winners of the award.
Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award: Chris Kreider
This award is voted on by the fans and it honors New York City police officer Steven McDonald, who was shot and injured on July 12, 1986. The criteria is that it is given to the player who “goes above and beyond the call of duty.” The deserved winner of the award was Chris Kreider.
Adam Fox was the winner last season after Mika Zibanejad won the award for two straight seasons. The award was created in the 1987-88 season.
Rod Gilbert “Mr. Ranger” Award: Chris Kreider
This was the first year for the Rod Gilbert “Mr. Ranger” Award as selected by team management and given to the player “who best honors Rod’s legacy by exemplifying leadership qualities both on and off the ice, and making a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.” Chris Kreider was the inaugural winner of the award that was created to honor the late Rod Gilbert who was the face of the Blueshirts for decades.
Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award: Nils Lundkvist
This award is given to the top Rangers rookie in Training Camp as selected by the media. Swedish defenseman Nils Lundkvist was the first winner in two years as there was no award last season due to the COVID pandemic. Lundkvist played 25 games with the Rangers, but spent most of the season with the Hartford Wolf Pack, his first season after coming to North America.
Adam Fox was the last winner of the award in 2019. It is named after Lars-Erik Sjoberg, who was the Rangers chief European scout for eight years and has been awarded since 1988.
Our own award
There can be no arguments when it comes to who won these awards. Unfortunately, the team stopped giving out a rookie of the year award in 2010 when the Rangers Fan Club folded. We will take this opportunity to give our own Rookie of the Year Award to Braden Schneider.