The Rangers' news for Tuesday was clearly a mixed bag. A heavy dose of sorrow mixed with a small amount of sunshine. The sorrow was the loss of life long Rangers' fan and source of inspiration to the team in the pass of NYPD Detective Steven McDonald at the age of 59 following a heart attack at his home Sunday. On the very small flip side, Ryan McDonagh earned his second straight All-Star berth Tuesday.
The story of McDonald, who was paralyzed in a horrific shooting in Central Park before forgiving his shooter. his shooter is well-known. New York named an annual award, known as the “Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award,” in 1987 the year after he was shot. That award is given to the franchise’s player fans feel “goes above and beyond the call of duty.” A study of the winners over the years shows just how right the team got those awards.
McDonald has been a source of inspiration and if you watch the highlights of that award being given, you can see just how much he meant to the team and the team meant to him. Many who received the award in the past weighed in with thoughts on his passing and just how much of an inspiration he was to them. The team press release exemplifies some of those thoughts as well but leave it to Adam Graves, who is the epitome of what that award has come to mean, to sum it up best.
Rangers team statement and tribute posted:
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Detective Steven McDonald, a cherished member of the Rangers family,” the team wrote in a release. “Steven exemplified the true meaning of the word hero and also personified the ‘Blueshirt Faithful.’ He is an inspiration to us all and his legacy will continue to live on in our hearts and minds. Our thoughts and prayers are with [his wife] Patti Ann and [son] Conor and the entire McDonald family.”
These are a few of the quotes from Graves, who won the award five times, written by Dan Rosen in his column (https://www.nhl.com/news/steven-mcdonald-true-hero-to-rangers-new-york-city/c-285542846):
"To the franchise, the city of New York, he is a true hero," Graves said. "A hero in actions, a hero in his words, a hero in his beliefs and a hero in the way he cared for people and advocated for the world to be a safer place. There probably isn't a policeman in New York City that he did not know. He did many, many speeches and he went to schools to talk to kids. As far as the New York Rangers organization, he was such a huge part of who we are, and we were so proud and privileged to have him as part of our organization and to have an award named after someone who is truly a hero. That term couldn't be used more appropriately in this man's honor."
"When you think of Steven, you just think of what he represented, everything that is good in humanity," Graves said. "You have a heavy heart, but at the same time you want to smile because he just made you feel so good. That was what he was all about. The Steven McDonald Award will probably, if it's possible, take on even more meaning because he's a man that represents everything that is good."
As I tweeted after the news broke of McDonald's passing, "The term hero gets tossed around too easily at times. In this case, it fails to adequately describe Steven McDonald & the legacy he leaves." I am sure the Rangers will have an appropriate tribute to McDonald on Saturday at the first home game after the bye period. When the award is given this year, there likely won't be a dry eye in the house as it's presented by his widow, Patti Ann, and son, Conor, who is also a detective. RIP Steven McDonald.
McDonagh Named to All-Star Team:
As noted above, McDonough was elected to his second straight NHL All-Star team Tuesday. While his numbers, as you will see below or nice I am unsure if he truly is an all star. In fact, you can argue that Nick Holden has been the team's best overall defensemen and possibly more worthy of the selection. But I can't argue with taking McDonagh...largely because of the format.
McDonagh, 27, has skated in 41 games with the Rangers this season, registering two goals and 23 assists for 25 points, along with a plus-10 rating and 25 penalty minutes. He ranks third among NHL defensemen in even strength assists (15), is tied for fourth among NHL defensemen in primary assists (13), is tied for fifth among NHL defensemen in assists, and is tied for eighth among NHL defensemen in points in 2016-17. McDonagh also ranks third among NHL defensemen in games with an assist (19) and is tied for fifth among NHL defensemen in games with a point (20) this season. Among defensemen in the Metropolitan Division, McDonagh ranks first in assists, primary assists, and even strength assists, is tied for first in points, and ranks second in average ice time (24:11) in 2016-17.
Here is the Metro team that was selected
Forwards
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins (C)
Taylor Hall, New Jersey Devils
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Wayne Simmonds, Philadelphia Flyers
John Tavares, New York Islanders
Defensemen
Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes
Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets
Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
If you are going by most-deserving on the Rangers, that likely would be Micheal Grabner. Scoring overall for the Blueshirts has been extremely balanced with nine players over 20 points and one with 19. But, the 3-on-3 format and divisional selections coupled with the need to take one player from each team limits who could make the team. It's the prior sentence that drives why Grabner wasn't named.
The format was an interesting twist last year but ended up really working because of John Scott subplot. Because Hall has to make it from the Devils and Tavares from the Islanders, though you could argue he might not be the most-deserving on that team, there is no room up front seeing which other forwards made it. Justin Faulk made it for Carolina and either Victor Rask or Jeff Skinner or Sebastian Aho might have been a better choice. So, unless the format goes back to something North America vs. The World, this flaw will continue to leave several deserving players on the sideline.
Years ago, NHL teams ran skills competition practices with the winners eligible to compete in the same in the All-Star Game. Maybe it's time to go that route again or at least have the league make certain selections to supplement who is already on the squad to place skaters on those events. Why not add Grabner and Carl Hagelin and Dylan Larkin, who won last year's, in the fastest skater? This was an idea I was thinking about and also heard on the SNY Rangers podcast yesterday. This way you expand the numbers of players there, possibly rewarding those who were snubbed, and increase the talent level already at the event to make it even more fun for the fans.
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