The Rangers announced Wednesday its annual team awards and, in what is hopeful foreshadowing, Artemiy Panarin’s 95-point debut on Broadway earned the Russian winger the team’s MVP award as voted on by the New York media. Panarin is the first Ranger to win the team’s MVP award in his first season since Mark Messier in 1992. Mika Zibanejad was the only other player to earn a first place vote for the team’s Most Valuable Player award.
Alongside Panarin, Jesper Fast was voted the Players’ Player Award by his teammates for the fifth consecutive season.