Player Discussion Mika Zibanejad

[RangersFan]

Do you guys remember Brad Richards noticeable drop off in foot speed and impact in his second season here? Mika is at the same age, 31-32. A lot of athletes drop off around this age as well, it's not unusual. His highs were high here, hence the fan reaction. Might have to accept the type of player he is. Lavi might have to as well, not our 1C.

 

[lakeshirts37]

Do you guys remember Brad Richards noticeable drop off in foot speed and impact in his second season here? Mika is at the same age, 31-32. A lot of athletes drop off around this age as well, it's not unusual. His highs were high here, hence the fan reaction. Might have to accept the type of player he is. Lavi might have to as well, not our 1C.

I think you’re spot on. Mika is just hitting a natural decline. Unfortunately, it’s a couple years too soon.

 

[IDvsEGO]

I think you’re spot on. Mika is just hitting a natural decline. Unfortunately, it’s a couple years too soon.

Except Mika doesn’t look slower. He looks like he wants no part of actual contact.
At his best he drove the center of the ice, wasn’t physical but wasn’t shy to contact.
He was aggressive with the puck, and just always shot it.

He’s doing none of those things now. He stays on the perimeter, he defers constantly, and he passes up wide open shots

 

[Siddi]

Except Mika doesn’t look slower. He looks like he wants no part of actual contact.
At his best he drove the center of the ice, wasn’t physical but wasn’t shy to contact.
He was aggressive with the puck, and just always shot it.

He’s doing none of those things now. He stays on the perimeter, he defers constantly, and he passes up wide open shots

I agree with this. Nothing suggests that he lost any speed. It is all in his head.

 

[lakeshirts37]

Except Mika doesn’t look slower. He looks like he wants no part of actual contact.
At his best he drove the center of the ice, wasn’t physical but wasn’t shy to contact.
He was aggressive with the puck, and just always shot it.

He’s doing none of those things now. He stays on the perimeter, he defers constantly, and he passes up wide open shots

yeah youre right. f***. I dont know lol its depressing.

 

[noncents]

when it gets to the point when fans start actively rooting for the player to perform badly so they can continue castigating him, i start rooting for them hard*. i'm buying shares on 93.

Hope Zib proves y'all wrong. shame on you for throwing a guy who's been a great ranger under the bus.

* this doesn't apply to lindgren or trouba, who i think are just not that good.

 

[Levitate]

He's tried to turn into a playmaker. He just needs to drive to the middle and shoot the puck

No one respects him as a goal scorer anymore. Make them respect your shot again and it'll open up more passing opportunities too.

Easy for me to say but like damn it's obvious he's not even trying to shoot as much as he used to. Kreider scored 50 and Mika decided he needed to be a setup man

 

[Fitzy]

I’ve been saying for two years he might have an easier time of it on right wing in his thirties.

If Chytil stays healthy and plays well, all of a sudden that becomes a more viable option. You add a 3C at the deadline and boom, we are a complete roster again.

 

[Peltz]

when it gets to the point when fans start actively rooting for the player to perform badly so they can continue castigating him, i start rooting for them hard*. i'm buying shares on 93.

Hope Zib proves y'all wrong. shame on you for throwing a guy who's been a great ranger under the bus.

* this doesn't apply to lindgren or trouba, who i think are just not that good.

Make no mistake, I'm a Mika fan and I've been trying to convince this board for a few seasons now that he's a great, well rounded player.

But last year's playoffs showed that he is overpaid relative to his contract value. That's just the reality of where he is in his career. He did not show up in two straight post-seasons.

You simply need a lot more out of a cup winning 1C. That one turnover where he tried to sell a penalty rather than play the puck was also rather disgraceful.

He could easily be electrifying this spring and catch another wind of "Mika March or Mika May" as he has in the past. But his poor showing cost us the cup last year, and he had no answer for how the Panthers completely neutralized him.

If you don't think he was thoroughly outplayed by them (like, it wasn't close) then I really don't know what to say.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

when it gets to the point when fans start actively rooting for the player to perform badly so they can continue castigating him, i start rooting for them hard*. i'm buying shares on 93.

Hope Zib proves y'all wrong. shame on you for throwing a guy who's been a great ranger under the bus.

* this doesn't apply to lindgren or trouba, who i think are just not that good.

Lindgren and Tuba try their best.

The fact that Zib could and should be so much better is why he gets the most shit

 

[GbgRanger]

What happened to his shot? He looks awkard setting up the slapshot on the pp

 

[DevilDog99]

How did he get a first star for an empty net goal? What a joke. I thought he had a fairly invisible game outside a bad lazy penalty and the pp. guy stinks bad

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

How did he get a first star for an empty net goal? What a joke. I thought he had a fairly invisible game outside a bad lazy penalty and the pp. guy stinks bad

He wasn’t as bad as the first 2 games but yeah, seems like a charity case

 

[Daves a mess]

when it gets to the point when fans start actively rooting for the player to perform badly so they can continue castigating him, i start rooting for them hard*. i'm buying shares on 93.

Hope Zib proves y'all wrong. shame on you for throwing a guy who's been a great ranger under the bus.

* this doesn't apply to lindgren or trouba, who i think are just not that good.

Come on, you know that we aren't " actively rooting" against any players we mock. We all want Mika to succeed. Kaapo too.

I don't touch the whole Trouba thing here and on X. It's too personal. It's like Jacob grabbed their mother's boob or something.

If there truly is someone here who goes out of their way to root for a Ranger players failure, to prove that they are right on a hockey board, then that's just gross. And they need their heads checked for more serious issues.

 

[Cuckoo4Kakko]

Come on, you know that we aren't " actively rooting" against any players we mock. We all want Mika to succeed. Kaapo too.

I don't touch the whole Trouba thing here and on X. It's too personal. It's like Jacob grabbed their mother's boob or something.

If there truly is someone here who goes out of their way to root for a Ranger players failure, to prove that they are right on a hockey board, then that's just gross. And they need their heads checked for more serious issues.

I'd recommend not going on social media and looking up Daniel Jones.

 

[noncents]

Come on, you know that we aren't " actively rooting" against any players we mock. We all want Mika to succeed. Kaapo too.

I don't touch the whole Trouba thing here and on X. It's too personal. It's like Jacob grabbed their mother's boob or something.

If there truly is someone here who goes out of their way to root for a Ranger players failure, to prove that they are right on a hockey board, then that's just gross. And they need their heads checked for more serious issues.

maybe you speak for yourself here - there's plenty of hfnyr posters who actively root against
both 93 and 24

 

[TGWL]

What happened to his shot? He looks awkard setting up the slapshot on the pp

His stick grew an extra 2 inches.

He was meh last night and finished with 3 points. That's who is he now. Remember when he knocked a player down forechecking (Capitals?) and took the puck to score the game winning goal? Old times.

 

[Daves a mess]

maybe you speak for yourself here - there's plenty of hfnyr posters who actively root against
both 93 and 24

I believe you.

I bet I have most of them blocked, now that I think about it.

I'd recommend not going on social media and looking up Daniel Jones.

. Ok. Now I have to.

 

[Siddi]

How did he get a first star for an empty net goal? What a joke. I thought he had a fairly invisible game outside a bad lazy penalty and the pp. guy stinks bad

The star wasnt given for the empty netter. He had a 3 point night. Without him last night the game goes in to OT. The penalty was as soft as they come. Watch the replay. Raymond was already going down. Mika didnt touch him.

 

[Siddi]

His stick grew an extra 2 inches.

He was meh last night and finished with 3 points. That's who is he now. Remember when he knocked a player down forechecking (Capitals?) and took the puck to score the game winning goal? Old times.

Imagine having a player on your team scoring 3 points and actively being the reason the game doesnt go to OT while having a meh night. I will take that player every day of the week.

 

[Atax]

Listen. I'm rooting for him and will take 3 point nights any day of the week. But lets not act like he had a good game. He basically neutered the first PP with his inept play. He got an assist on an absolutely loaded PP and won a faceoff where Smyth had a great shot to score a goal. He then got an empty net goal after Panarin let him have it. He had an awful game but got points and we won.

Winning is what matters. But it doesnt change the fact that he looks awful out there.

 

[Siddi]

Listen. I'm rooting for him and will take 3 point nights any day of the week. But lets not act like he had a good game. He basically neutered the first PP with his inept play. He got an assist on an absolutely loaded PP and won a faceoff where Smyth had a great shot to score a goal. He then got an empty net goal after Panarin let him have it. He had an awful game but got points and we won.

Winning is what matters. But it doesnt change the fact that he looks awful out there.

He definetly needs to elevate his game but I feel like we are in bizarro territory with the way some posters critic him.

Downplaying the importance of faceoffs (Mika have been masterful in that regard this early in the season) and blaming him for the early PP struggles when HE was the one who found the seam to Kreiders redirect. No one else got any results on the PP!

 

[Peltz]

He got an assist on an absolutely loaded PP and won a faceoff where Smyth had a great shot to score a goal.

That's fine for me. Mika never looks amazing in October (although his Spring hasn't been great the last two years either). Zib is a guy who only plays his best hockey when he is on a streak.

He produced last night. If he keeps getting little points like this, the confidence will come back.

We need his line scoring 5v5 (which they have so far) and for him to play smart hockey. Mika can go from decent to spectacular within the span of a month deep into the season.

That's what I'm hoping for. In last night's game, he made the plays necessary to get points on the board and for the team to win the game. That's fine for regular season hockey. The end.

If his line goes months without a goal like it did last year, then we should complain. But for a 2-0-1 team where he's already contributing, this is fine.

 

[Peltz]

He definetly needs to elevate his game but I feel like we are in bizarro territory with the way some posters critic him.

Downplaying the importance of faceoffs (Mika have been masterful in that regard this early in the season) and blaming him for the early PP struggles when HE was the one who found the seam to Kreiders redirect. No one else got any results on the PP!

Agreed.

 

[The Undertaker]

The PP has probably the best passing RD and LW in the league. Best net front guy. Elite faceoff man. This PP is top 12 with Glass replacing Mika.