The day after Ryan Lindgren used his head in a manner not intended, it is worth revisiting just how the Rangers acquired the worthy recipient of the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award and by how much No. 55 has exceeded original expectations.

The Rangers were going into a rebuild. They would tear things down and start anew after a six-season run in which Henrik Lundqvist played the part of Sisyphus and the Cup kept rolling downhill just when he was about to reach the top. A Letter was written, foretelling trades of popular veterans who had taken the club as far as possible before the result began to break bad.

Impending free agent Rick Nash was the big fish in the 2018 rental pool. The 33-year-old winger had endured a few average, injury-impacted seasons following his bust-out, 41-goal 2014-15 in which he finished seventh in the Hart balloting, but he was positioned as a missing piece for a contender. He’d scored 18 goals in 60 games, he was conscientious defensively and he was an outstanding teammate.

The Bruins, who were battling Tampa Bay for first place in the Atlantic Division, were interested.