New York Rangers to present Steven McDonald Award, who will win?

The New York Rangers will present the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award before Tuesday night’s tilt with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Every year since the 1987-88 season, the New York Rangers have honored New York City Police Detective Steven McDonald, who was shot and injured in the line of duty on July 12, 1986 and passed away on January 10, 2017.

The Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award is presented to the Rangers player as selected by the fans that “goes above and beyond the call of duty.”

For more on the life of Steven McDonald read here.

New York Rangers to present Steven McDonald Award

The Rangers will present the award in a pregame ceremony and for what it’s worth I believe Chris Kreider will win it.

This has been an amazing season for the longest tenured Ranger with 10 years of service.

Kreider, 30, leads the team with 51 goals and 75 points in 79 games, both of which are career highs. He also leads the NHL with 26 power play goals.

On Monday, Kreider was also nominated for the Bill Masterton Trophy which is awarded to the NHL player that best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication.

In 2017, he overcame a life-threatening blood clot to become one of the team’s leaders both on and off the ice.

“I had trouble choking back tears when the anthem was playing,” Kreider said to ESPN after returning from surgery. “When you’re in the NHL, you’re stuck in this maze where everyone is hyper competitive. You live and die with wins and losses. Then you get out of the maze and it changed my perspective for the better. Your career goes by so fast. This was my first opportunity to step back and see that. If you can’t be grateful playing in the NHL, shame on you.”

While Mika Zibanejad and Igor Shesterkin will warrant consideration, fans have gravitated this season to Kreider and his infectious play on the ice. He’s been thought of as the unofficial captain of the team and has done a beautiful job nurturing the young players in the lineup.

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List of Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award Winners

Adam Fox won the award for the first time last season. Prior to that, Mika Zibanejad had been chosen for two consecutive seasons.

Chris Kreider has never won the award.

Adam Graves has been become synonymous with the award after winning it 5 times. Ryan Callahan also claimed the honor 4 times. Wayne Gretzky, who only spent three seasons in New York won the award once during the 1997-98 season.

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