Player Discussion Mika Zibanejad

[Row I Goon]

Interesting factoid….

 

[NYRFANMANI]

I can assume people finally came to terms with his flow, huh? Good.

 

[QJL]

Do you think Zibanejad would be on team USA or Team Canada (if he was born in either countries that is).

Do you think he'd be more respected (ie: not so underrated) if he was from either one of those countries?

Zibanejad would unquestionably be the 2C for USA, over Eichel, and a top forward on the team. I don’t know if I’d take any forward but Matthews over him.

As for Canada, the only forwards that have a definitive edge over him are McDavid and MacKinnon. He’s right there with the next group and would definitely make the team.

Mika has a real good chance at 50 goals and 100 points.

 

[Killer Orcas]

Interesting factoid….


View attachment 596255

He also added 4 apples to set the single game points record that game.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Where the f*** was he today? He wasn't even noticeable in a bad way like Panarin and Fox.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Where the f*** was he today? He wasn't even noticeable in a bad way like Panarin and Fox.

LMAO now that you mention it it’s like he didn’t even play
I don’t remember even seeing him

 

[Peltz]

Zib being unnoticeable was still better than Fox. He’s not the reason we lost this game.

 

[ColonialsHockey10]

I missed the second period and was actually going to ask everyone here if he got hurt. Then I looked on NHL.com and he had 22 minutes.

It was impressive how invisible he was last night. I’m not even mad!

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

A friend of mine said he saw him get twisted around in the crease and looked like he may have sustained an injury.

He was awfully quiet after the first period, so hoping that wasnt the case. I guess well know if he gets a maintenance day today.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

The whole first line was bad. Kreider had one of his disappearing acts which didn't help.

 

[ecemleafs]

Where the f*** was he today? He wasn't even noticeable in a bad way like Panarin and Fox.

there will be games where our top players dont play well. this is natural.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Was looking at the Athletics player cards and realized what an incredible season he was having in 19-20 before it got cut short.

What was he doing that year that lead him to be so productive? Was it Buch?

 

[Mac n Gs]

I'm not sure if it ever came up in discussion here, but he was ranked as one of the top "clutch" players in Seravalli's player archetypes project. The clutch category was essentially a "two-way" player category, and Mika ranked 4th behind Bergeron, Aho, and Lindholm.

Daily Faceoff Archetype Rankings: ‘Clutch’ is code word for ‘Selke’

They’re not the best at any one skill, but they’re good at pretty much everything. These 20 players help you...

www.dailyfaceoff.com

Other Rangers in this project were:

Igor - franchise talent
Panarin - top distributor
Kreider- top net-front presence
Trocheck -17th clutch
Goodrow- honorable mention clutch
Fox - 7th puck-moving dman
Trouba- honorable mention puck-moving dman

It's not a perfect measure by any means, but it is based on Seravalli talking to front office execs and cherry-picking five privately-tracked stats from Stathletes to create these categories.

 

[McRanger92]

Was looking at the Athletics player cards and realized what an incredible season he was having in 19-20 before it got cut short.

What was he doing that year that lead him to be so productive? Was it Buch?


View attachment 620355

Drury nailed the Fox & Zibanejad extensions for what its worth

 

[JimmyG89]

Mika March is not exaggerated. Dude loves playing in these games and is a huge reason why the Rangers make pushes up the standings late in the season.

19-20 Zibanejad was going to carry them to a top 8 spot. Now, he is pushing the team to another rise that if they can manage to take both against Carolina, would put them in a spot to get home ice in the 1st round, likely against Carolina.

 

[duhmetreE]

Was looking at the Athletics player cards and realized what an incredible season he was having in 19-20 before it got cut short.

What was he doing that year that lead him to be so productive? Was it Buch?


View attachment 620355

He was way more aggressive/relentless IMO. In skating and shooting...

We're starting to realize it now... with Coach Tank on the scene. Even Panarin is looking like old Panarin

 

[Machinehead]

Mika March is not exaggerated. Dude loves playing in these games and is a huge reason why the Rangers make pushes up the standings late in the season.

19-20 Zibanejad was going to carry them to a top 8 spot. Now, he is pushing the team to another rise that if they can manage to take both against Carolina, would put them in a spot to get home ice in the 1st round, likely against Carolina.

Lol'd at St. Patrick's Day

 

[LokiDog]

Mika is probably the team MVP outside of Shesterkin. He and Fox. Panarin is a luxury point getter, but Mika is the engine. Not comparing him to a McDavid but what he does on both sides of the puck is pretty staggering. It’s not that he’s on a Bergeron level defensively in terms of talent, but he is the only center in the league who is top 10 in points that is also top 10 in PK minutes, and those are simply hard minutes that have to take their toll on you over 82+ games. So while I’m not saying he’d put up 20+ more points if he was used in purely offensive situations the way some of the centers who out score him do, I do believe that he has among the most asked of him of any top center out there. He plays significantly more PK time than even Selke Barkov, etc. Definitely a horse for us and he proved he will show up when the games matter and the going isn’t easy.

Bumping this beauty from last playoffs. Mika getting hot going into the post season again, right on cue.

 

[Leonardo87]

Zibanejad leads 3 Stars of the Week | NHL.com

Rangers center, Avalanche defenseman Makar, Bruins goalie Swayman earn honors

www.nhl.com

 

[Zats Muccarello]

We are blessed to have this dude

 

[Captain Lindy]

March Mika is in full effect!

 

[Crease]

Zibanejad has spent most of his career with the Rangers and is essentially a PPG player in his seven years here.

Likewise, Panarin has now spent most of his career with the Rangers (by season) and is over 1.25 PPG.

Certified elite forwards carving their resumes as Rangers.

 

[bl02]

This year he has been better. It's not just the point totals. He seems more physically engaged. Never avoiding physical contact in one on one battles.

 

[duhmetreE]

No one talks about it much but his game rapidly improved/took off after the offseason in which he started working out with Kreider.. ( if I remember correctly )

Kreider needs to bring Laffy in next offseason

 

[LokiDog]

Zibanejad has spent most of his career with the Rangers and is essentially a PPG player in his seven years here.

Likewise, Panarin has now spent most of his career with the Rangers (by season) and is over 1.25 PPG.

Certified elite forwards carving their resumes as Rangers.

Since Bread got to NY, Panarin is at 1.29 and Mika is at 1.09.

In that time, Mika is 6th among ALL centers in the NHL in points (10th in points per game). He’s 4th in goals among all centers (and 4th in goals per game). He’s also 9th among all centers in shorthanded time on ice.

The guys above him? Sissons, Kampf, Glendening, Goodrow, Copp, Lowry, Staal, Lindholm. Only Lindholm is remotely CLOSE to Zibanejad’s production (16th in points/24th in points per game).

Mika is a unique player in the NHL. He is top 10 in points and points per game and top 5 in goals and goals per game, while also being top 10 in shorthanded minutes. No other player in the world does what Mika does.

The fact that there is debate about whether he is an ‘elite’ or ‘just average’ 1C, let alone whether he can be considered a top 10C is ludicrous. On offense alone, for for 3 years running, he’s 6th in points, 4th in goals (10th in P/PG, 4th in G/PG). Add the unprecedented PKing workload and it’s not close.