The Rangers have announced that Mika Zibanejad has been voted as team MVP, by the Rangers media, and that Ryan Lindgren was named the winner of the Players’ Player award that was voted on by his teammates.
Zibanejad has a career high 90 points this season.
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Igor Shesterkin was the Rangers MVP last season.
This is Lindgren’s second Players’ Player Award in the past three seasons and follows his win of the Steven McDonald Extra Effort award earlier this week.
The Players’ Player Award which “has been given annually since the conclusion of the 1958-59 season and recognizes the Ranger who, as selected by his teammates, “best exemplifies what it means to be a team player.”
Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba were co-winners of the award last year.
Jacob Trouba was named as the second ever recipient of the Rod Gilbert ‘Mr. Ranger’ award last week.
That award is presented to the Ranger “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.”
Adam Rotter: Both of these choices make sense. Lindgren could/should win the Players’ Player Award every year he is on the team.
You could probably make a case for Adam Fox as Team MVP, but I think Zibanejad was the right choice for this season. He’s been remarkably consistent this season, has 30 points in 25 games against the Metro and either a point per game player, or just about, in every month. He’s their best and most consistent forward, a legit threat to score every time he shoots the puck and is such an important two-way player. There is a part of me that still thinks he should have been named Captain, but if the tradeoff of not having the responsibility of having the “C” on his chest means a season like this, it’s well worth it. He proved last year that he can produce in the playoffs and if they are to make a run again this year, he’s going to have to be a huge part of it.