The New York Rangers announced today that forward Mika Zibanejad has been named the winner of the 2025-26 Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award, presented by Northwell.
The Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award is presented annually to the Ranger who, as chosen by the fans, "goes above and beyond the call of duty." The award, which has been given annually since the 1987-88 season, bears the name of devoted Blueshirt fan and 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 Jan. 10, 2017.
Zibanejad, 32, has notched 32 goals and 37 assists for 69 points in 73 games for New York this season. He leads all Rangers this season in goals, power play goals (15) and points, and is one of four skaters in the NHL this season with 30-plus goals, 30-plus assists and 15-plus power play goals. His 15 power play goals rank fifth in the NHL and his 31 power play points are tied for ninth. Zibanejad broke the franchise record for the most power play goals this season (123), becoming the first active player to lead an Original Six franchise in power play goals. On Mar. 23, he skated in his 1,000th career NHL game and became the 22nd Swedish born NHL player to reach the milestone.
Across 15 seasons between the Rangers and the Ottawa Senators, he has collected 346 goals and 463 assists for 809 points. He is the fourth Rangers skater in team history to have recorded nine 20-goal seasons with the Rangers and among all Rangers skaters in franchise history, ranks third in power play points (244), fourth in goals (282) and seventh in points (658).
The Stockholm, Sweden native has now won the Steven McDonald Extra Effort award for the third time in his career and is only the fourth Rangers skater to have won the award at least three times. He was originally named the winner in back-to-back seasons (2018-19 and 2019-20) and became the sixth Ranger to have won the award in at least two consecutive seasons.
