Player Discussion Mika Zibanejad

[Leonardo87]

I’ve given him a break. Honestly we don’t know if it is even affecting him. But the point is he is still a non factor right now. When Chytil comes back I think it’s a good idea for him to sit a few games and get his head clear or if he needs rest

im sure you know I follow both Rangers and The Ducks. Yeah The hockey gods hate me. lol. But anyway Adam Henrique was waived last week came back last night and scored a huge goal to tie the game. Ducks are a mess now , worse than the Rangers but I feel he had covid also. He had 26 goals in 71 games last season on a horrible Ducks offensive team.

My point, these players don’t go from having some of their best season to this, without there being something going on, it just doesn’t make sense that this is the player Mika is now.

 

[NYRangers0723]

im sure you know I follow both Rangers and The Ducks. Yeah The hockey gods hate me. lol. But anyway Adam Henrique was waived last week came back last night and scored a huge goal to tie the game. Ducks are a mess now , worst than the Rangers but I feel he had covid also. He had 26 goals in 71 games last season on a horrible Ducks offensive team.

My point, these players don’t go from having some of their best season to this, without there being something going on, it just doesn’t make sense that this is the player Mika is now.

. Like I just posted earlier I’m not saying Mika has all of a sudden become a bad player. I’ve always says he was injured or it’s a mental thing. Either way I think it would be good to give him some time off when Chytil is back

 

[Leonardo87]

. Like I just posted earlier I’m not saying Mika has all of a sudden become a bad player. I’ve always says he was injured or it’s a mental thing. Either way I think it would be good to give him some time off when Chytil is back

totally agree. If the Rangers continue this by the half way mark. Time to chalk up this season as a loss and focus on Oct for the next season .

 

[gravey9]

Mika Zibanejad? More like Mika's been a dead.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

They should be on the horn with everyone right now trying to trade him for a young center. Try to convince them he is just having a slow start.

He doesn't even look like he cares anymore, if he was slumping but getting chances I wouldnt be worried, but he is literally doing nothing.

 

[NYRangers0723]

They should be on the horn with everyone right now trying to trade him for a young center. Try to convince them he is just having a slow start.

He doesn't even look like he cares anymore, if he was slumping but getting chances I wouldnt be worried, but he is literally doing nothing

.

I think that’s a little too far lol. I agree he has been awful but I still think it’s an injury and lack of confidence. Let’s give him some time off when Chytil comes back and see if that helps

 

[The Crypto Guy]

I think that’s a little too far lol. I agree he has been awful but I still think it’s an injury and lack of confidence. Let’s give him some time off when Chytil comes back and see if that helps

Haha probably..but hey, if someone is willing to give up a legit potential 1st line center, i'd be all ears.

 

[NYRangers0723]

Haha probably..but hey, if someone is willing to give up a legit potential 1st line center, i'd be all ears

.

absolutely. However giving up a young good C doesn’t happen much anymore unless the player demands a trade or something

 

[Harbour Dog]

When I think about how I would put our top9 together right now, the biggest issue is that Mika is a black hole.

I think that at this point in this season, it's reasonable to start sliding him down the lineup until he finds his game.

Panarin / Strome / Kreider
Lafreniere / Chytil / Kakko
Blackwell / Zibanejad / Buchnevich

Give the Panarin line the bulk of the minutes, and hand out the rest according to performance.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

They should be on the horn with everyone right now trying to trade him for a young center. Try to convince them he is just having a slow start.

He doesn't even look like he cares anymore, if he was slumping but getting chances I wouldnt be worried, but he is literally doing nothing.

He has NMC, not realistic. So even if you found a team and player, he’d have to approve it

At least he’s not FA this year. That would make the decision on him a lot tougher.

Hopefully he gets back to elite form. But right now it looks like a big question.

 

[DanielBrassard]

Even before this season I thought the right move was to trade him, with the concussion history and having to sign him long-term at age 29. This season has solidified my thought process. Obviously the NMC creates some obstacles but I'm sure if a team like Florida or Vegas wants him he wouldn't mind waiving for them.

 

[NoQuitInNewMexico]

Don't they test the crap out of these guys? Wasn't that the drama with Kravstov in Hartford, he couldn't/wouldn't run enough laps or whatever they wanted him to do? I'm open to the covid explanation but I'm not sure it matches with what I see.

I don't think his "hustle" game is bad, maybe it was today but it was a bad team game from that perspective. He's good on the PK, he's still fine in the d-zone. He just turned into a Howden/Rooney.

 

[Lion Hound]

Difficult watching the guy struggle like he is this season. Hes done so much since he came here. Overcame obstacles, and literally bacame the NYR coveted #1C. Wathing him fail now, is almost like watching NY itself trying to rebound from this nightmare, but it just can't get its legs up undereath itself to support its own weight.

I don't think the guy is done. It think he will find it. #10 Coming back will likely help as it takes off some of the burden of "having to be the guy".

With that said....Im not a proponent to signing him to the next contract here in NY. Unless that next contract is at a massive discount. Like...MASSIVE!

From day 1 when Seattle was announced, I felt Mika would end up there.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Difficult watching the guy struggle like he is this season. Hes done so much since he came here. Overcame obstacles, and literally bacame the NYR coveted #1C. Wathing him fail now, is almost like watching NY itself trying to rebound from this nightmare, but it just can't get its legs up undereath itself to support its own weight.

I don't think the guy is done. It think he will find it. #10 Coming back will likely help as it takes off some of the burden of "having to be the guy".

With that said....Im not a proponent to signing him to the next contract here in NY. Unless that next contract is at a massive discount. Like...MASSIVE!

From day 1 when Seattle was announced, I felt Mika would end up there.

He was horrible with Panarin in the lineup why would it be any different when he comes back lol

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

2 goals, 6 points in 19.

21 goals, 32 points in final 19 last season

 

[Synergy27]

How does this affect Mika’s outlook on his own career and next contract? Is this shit show of a season the ultimate salary cap gift? Can we sign him for a Kreider like deal at this point?

 

[NYRFAN218]

How does this affect Mika’s outlook on his own career and next contract? Is this shit show of a season the ultimate salary cap gift? Can we sign him for a Kreider like deal at this point?

I don't know how much it will unless it carries over into next season at which point you have to be concerned about locking the guy up in any capacity long term. I'd imagine most people would view this season as an anomaly given the circumstances surrounding it as well as his Covid diagnosis right before camp. So either he rebounds next season and his value is probably in the same ballpark it was on a long term contract all along or he doesn't rebound and you wouldn't really want to commit to him anyway.

 

[Lion Hound]

He was horrible with Panarin in the lineup why would it be any different when he comes back lol

He was, and is horrible this season. No question.
He also was excellent in the years prior. I think he is too good a player to fall off completely. I don’t think this is the end of Zibanejad. I think with the supporting cast this team has when healthy will be when he returns to the player we know he can be.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Get Eichel at any cost. Cannot rely on this guy to bounce back this is an unbelievable fall from grace

 

[Hire Sather]

Would you gamble and offer him a long term Kreider type contract now? Would he take it?

I doubt he would

 

[Chytilmania]

Get Eichel at any cost. Cannot rely on this guy to bounce back this is an unbelievable fall from grace

Agree on getting Eichel, but we will have to give up Chytil unless Jeff pulls off a heist.

 

[Betelgeuse]

Any interviews of him? Any soundbites he's given for his play?

 

[NYR94]

Would you gamble and offer him a long term Kreider type contract now? Would he take it?

I doubt he would

I don't think the Rangers offer one now and I agree I don't think he'd accept it. He's hoping this season (if he continues to struggle mightily) is just a write off due to lingering effects of COVID.

The importance of his performance next year, however, is huge.

 

[B17 Apricots]

I just read an article on Zibanejad from NBC sports... I just dont think people really understand. We know the guy had Covid, we know the after effects of covid... they did scans on Covid patients. Their lungs had as much damage to them as heavy smokers. Theres a lot to consider here, it affects people differently. I dont believe for one second this is just some sudden lack of execution or effort or some motivation thing. I just don't think the guy is 100% plain and simple. Like someone playing with an injured shoulder/ankle/whatever.

Next year is the deciding factor for sure. I'd put a bunch of money on a healthy Zibanejad regaining gamebreaking form

 

[RangersFan]

I'm glad they have another year to decide what to do with him. Best case scenario is he has some semblance of the Zib we had the last few seasons and we get him signed to a cheaper deal than what he would have gotten if he popped off again. If not I think Barkov becomes a real option.