Mika Zibanejad

[irishlaxburger2]

Fox at 100% would absolutely tilt this series. He hasn't been 100% since midway through the Washington series.

Good teams overcome injury (see - the Avs a few years ago). The Rangers are not built well enough to overcome the Fox injury. And it's the Mika and Trouba contracts that completely limit their ability to be built that way.

 

[Oneiro]

6 more years at 8.5 is pretty brutal. He's a good player, but he can't be the best C on your team.

The Rangers are yet another example of why you want to build down the middle. Zib is probably the best center they've had in the last twenty years and that's not a good thing.

I wonder if they're a potential Marner landing spot.

 

[matsqq]

It's. Not. 4. Games.

It's 3 straight playoffs.

Filtered Rangers players playoff stats last years on my mobile ( if it worked out), points per game, didnt look that bad for Zibanejad, more than 1 point per game, competition was lower...

Well I rest my case, you can have your own reality ...

 

[KevinFinnerty]

Mika is too soft that's the sad truth. he plays with a bull in Kreider but he's a soft p***y boy

 

[KingDeathMetal]

Nico shut him down this year and Barkov this year, 2 premier 2-way Cs in the league. Having said that he's gotta elevate his game. If he's not getting PP points he's almost invisible. Tbf he adds some defensively but they need him to drive play, imo that line is devoid of a play driver at 5v5. Just again demonstrating he's not a true 1C on a Cup team.

If there is a Center who is better than Zibanejad that is available, let Chris Drury know. I'm sure he'd make that deal. As it stands, Zibanejad is solidly in the Top 15 Centers in the league, at a time when there are 25-30 REALLY good Centers all having scored or capable of scoring 80+ pts.

As it stands, having Zibanejad and Trochek as your top two centers is a luxury, and I think if we had a defense corps that played better hockey in front of Igor, and if Fox wasn't hurt/invisible, we'd be seeing a different result right now.

Honestly, Fox and Panarin have been far more invisible than Zib. And both are better, higher end players. Unlike Mika, Panarin has never had dominant playoff performances.

 

[Rangerfan4life90]

6 more years at 8.5 is pretty brutal. He's a good player, but he can't be the best C on your team.

The Rangers are yet another example of why you want to build down the middle. Zib is probably the best center they've had in the last twenty years and that's not a good thing.

I wonder if they're a potential Marner landing spot.

Zibs was good against Washington and Carolina, but he's definitely struggled in this series.

That said, he's historically been good in the playoffs. People forget he had a great run in the 21-22 playoffs.

 

[TGWL]

You can't just disregard that one of the great all-time defensive Centers is his matchup. There's a reason Mika was excellent for two rounds and suddenly became invisible this series. A lot of it is the matchup.

He DID have two assists last night, and 6 shots on goal the night before. I think he's looked much better the past two games than he did the previous 3.

But it's not all the matchup. You can't disregard that Mika is simply playing bad hockey and making bad decisions.

 

[Oneiro]

Zibs was good against Washington and Carolina, but he's definitely struggled in this series.

That said, he's historically been good in the playoffs. People forget he had a great run in the 21-22 playoffs.

Yeah, I don't think he's a choker or anything like that.

I do think, given his skating, his game will get more and more niche and sheltered. It's a pretty tough contract to trade.

 

[TGWL]

6 more years at 8.5 is pretty brutal. He's a good player, but he can't be the best C on your team.

The Rangers are yet another example of why you want to build down the middle. Zib is probably the best center they've had in the last twenty years and that's not a good thing.

I wonder if they're a potential Marner landing spot.

You tried to make a case about centers and then add in Marner? There is no way Marner is going to be our 1c, and we're not overpaying to get him as the RW on that line... Somebody toss Zibanejad a steak.

 

[Oak]

Fox at 100% would absolutely tilt this series. He hasn't been 100% since midway through the Washington series.

I disagree that Fox if healthy would be a difference maker in this series. Fox is not built for playoff hockey, similar to a Panarin. He is a dynamic #1D during regular season but his style does not translate that well to playoffs.

He must have also been hurt last year because I clearly remember the Devils bullying him.

 

[Rangerfan4life90]

I disagree that Fox if healthy would be a difference maker in this series. Fox is not built for playoff hockey, similar to a Panarin. He is a dynamic #1D during regular season but his style does not translate that well to playoffs.

He must have also been hurt last year because I clearly remember the Devils bullying him.

Majorly agree to disagree, then. Fox was a difference maker in the 21-22 playoffs. Fox isn't someone who relies on physical skills, which is what you're probably thinking.

It would be like me saying Miro Heiskanen isn't built for the playoffs.

 

[Sdevils42]

If there is a Center who is better than Zibanejad that is available, let Chris Drury know. I'm sure he'd make that deal. As it stands, Zibanejad is solidly in the Top 15 Centers in the league, at a time when there are 25-30 REALLY good Centers all having scored or capable of scoring 80+ pts.

As it stands, having Zibanejad and Trochek as your top two centers is a luxury, and I think if we had a defense corps that played better hockey in front of Igor, and if Fox wasn't hurt/invisible, we'd be seeing a different result right now.

Honestly, Fox and Panarin have been far more invisible than Zib. And both are better, higher end players. Unlike Mika, Panarin has never had dominant playoff performances.

Nah, Zib has proven again and again that he's not the guy in the POs. Top 15 Cs is great and all but I don't think he's even in that convo. I'll give you Tro, he's been very good. Thought he was more of a 3C on a Cup team but he's proven this year at least to be a capable 2C. But having 2 2Cs and no true 1C is an issue. It becomes more of an issue when he completely disappears vs top competition, competition that they'll have to get through to win the ultimate prize.

This Fox is hurt narrative is tiresome. Yes he's prob less than 100%, most guys are. Tkachuk is clearly nursing an injury and looks bad yet his line is outchancing NYR when he's on the ice. Fox is a nice player, an extremely high IQ player. But he has physical limitations, he's slow and not the least bit physical. He's made some nice poke checks and timely pass breakups but he's losing board battles, getting blown by on the rush. NJ exposed this last year and it's just happening again.

Again, he's a nice player but he's not a true 1D on a Cup team imo in the mold of Doughty, Hedman, Keith etc...

 

[yeaher]

Another overrated Rangers player, but hey he scored 5 goals in a game just not in a meaningful playoff game

 

[dogbazinho]

Dives. Perfect fit.

 

[Captain Monglobster]

If he was producing on the PP I would be able to swallow his soft play. But hes not. I know hes a top player in the league, but his turnover in game 4 and throwing his head back in game 5 sum up how he approaches the post season. He will not engage enough in board battles and get to the dirty areas.

 

[Rebels57]

The longer his hair gets, the worse he plays. Seriously, someone needs to convince this guy to ditch the drowned rat look.

 

[KingDeathMetal]

Nah, Zib has proven again and again that he's not the guy in the POs. Top 15 Cs is great and all but I don't think he's even in that convo. I'll give you Tro, he's been very good. Thought he was more of a 3C on a Cup team but he's proven this year at least to be a capable 2C. But having 2 2Cs and no true 1C is an issue. It becomes more of an issue when he completely disappears vs top competition, competition that they'll have to get through to win the ultimate prize.

This Fox is hurt narrative is tiresome. Yes he's prob less than 100%, most guys are. Tkachuk is clearly nursing an injury and looks bad yet his line is outchancing NYR when he's on the ice. Fox is a nice player, an extremely high IQ player. But he has physical limitations, he's slow and not the least bit physical. He's made some nice poke checks and timely pass breakups but he's losing board battles, getting blown by on the rush. NJ exposed this last year and it's just happening again.

Again, he's a nice player but he's not a true 1D on a Cup team imo in the mold of Doughty, Hedman, Keith etc...

The second or third best defenseman in the league isn't a true 1D on a Cup team?

I get that Adam Fox has now had two bad playoffs in a row, but his skill level and IQ is high enough that he can withstand whatever game plan you think teams have figured out about him.

The "Zib is not the guy in the playoffs" line is BS. He's been incredibly clutch for us in big moments. He was amazing two seasons ago in our run to the ECF, and he was a surefire Conn Smythe candidate for two rounds until we reached Florida. They've done a great job at shutting him down. Not every great player is great all the time.

There is SO much recency bias in these discussions. They wouldn't have been happening last week, but now the Rangers find themselves down in a series against a better team, and suddenly Zibanejad is overrated and Fox isn't a "true 1D" lol. Come on. We've seen these guys perform in big spots in long playoff runs. Kreider hasn't had a good series either, and he's the most clutch NYR in my lifetime besides Messier, Leetch, Hank and Igor. It happens.

The guy I'm actually worried about is Panarin. Because a dude who has averaged a 100 pt pace 4 of the last 5 seasons and had 120 this year, should not be this unproductive every single playoffs. I've seen Zibanejad do it, I've seen Fox and Kreider do it, so I have hope that they can snap their bad run of play. But I've never seen Panarin do it.


So if you want to question whether someone on the team is "not the guy", start with Bread.

 

[KingDeathMetal]

Another overrated Rangers player, but hey he scored 5 goals in a game just not in a meaningful playoff game

Had 24 pts in 20 playoff games two years ago, 16 pts in 15 playoff games this spring and that's while only having 2 in this series. He's had a ton of big playoff scoring moments over the years. Maybe check the numbers before summing up Mika's career in 5 bad games.

 

[Sdevils42]

Filtered Rangers players playoff stats last years on my mobile ( if it worked out), points per game, didnt look that bad for Zibanejad, more than 1 point per game, competition was lower...

Well I rest my case, you can have your own reality ...

It's not bad but like you said it came vs lesser competition so it's a bit misleading.

The second or third best defenseman in the league isn't a true 1D on a Cup team?

I get that Adam Fox has now had two bad playoffs in a row, but his skill level and IQ is high enough that he can withstand whatever game plan you think teams have figured out about him.

The "Zib is not the guy in the playoffs" line is BS. He's been incredibly clutch for us in big moments. He was amazing two seasons ago in our run to the ECF, and he was a surefire Conn Smythe candidate for two rounds until we reached Florida. They've done a great job at shutting him down. Not every great player is great all the time.

There is SO much recency bias in these discussions. They wouldn't have been happening last week, but now the Rangers find themselves down in a series against a better team, and suddenly Zibanejad is overrated and Fox isn't a "true 1D" lol. Come on. We've seen these guys perform in big spots in long playoff runs. Kreider hasn't had a good series either, and he's the most clutch NYR in my lifetime besides Messier, Leetch, Hank and Igor. It happens.

The guy I'm actually worried about is Panarin. Because a dude who has averaged a 100 pt pace 4 of the last 5 seasons and had 120 this year, should not be this unproductive every single playoffs. I've seen Zibanejad do it, I've seen Fox and Kreider do it, so I have hope that they can snap their bad run of play. But I've never seen Panarin do it.


So if you want to question whether someone on the team is "not the guy", start with Bread.

I've held the same position on Fox for a long time. Never said he wasn't good but he's not on a Makar, Keith, Doughty, Hedman level. He doesn't take over games. He excels despite his limited physical gifts. As I stated, he's an incredibly soft defenseman. Not asking him to deliver Trouba type hits but board battles, positioning in the front of the net, it's not his forte. He has an extremely high IQ, savvy, and passing skills. Decent shot when and if it hits the net. He's a nice player but he's not a 1D on a Cup team.

Zib, nah. He stacked PP points vs a very overmatch Caps team. Nico totally shut him down last year outside of a very few quiet assists. He only went off in 21-22 when facing the Pens 3G and Crosby out. If they want to win a Cup then guys have to elevate vs top/elite competition. No one has this series outside of Laf and Igor.

Kreider is what he is. He's a pure goal scorer, deflections and on the rush. If he's not scoring he's not contributing. Finally saw him start to throw some hits in G4&G5. He's a big guy with a power forward profile yet doesn't use it.

Panarin, yes. Legit concern. Incredible season but everyone was waiting to see how it went in the POs. His game isn't suited to the POs imo. Plays a perimeter game. That doesn't work vs the elite teams in the POs. Doesn't go to the dirty areas etc...

I think what they ran into last year was the result of a flawed roster, Tank and Kane were not what they needed at all. Once the PPs dried up after the first 2 games, NJ had their way 5v5. Same w/ Carolina this year except their goaltending killed them. Now vs FL, the matchup everyone wanted to see it's what everyone expected. This core isn't good enough to win imo, they don't play the right way, aren't willing to do what it takes.

 

[KingDeathMetal]

It's not bad but like you said it came vs lesser competition so it's a bit misleading.

I've held the same position on Fox for a long time. Never said he wasn't good but he's not on a Makar, Keith, Doughty, Hedman level. He doesn't take over games. He excels despite his limited physical gifts. As I stated, he's an incredibly soft defenseman. Not asking him to deliver Trouba type hits but board battles, positioning in the front of the net, it's not his forte. He has an extremely high IQ, savvy, and passing skills. Decent shot when and if it hits the net. He's a nice player but he's not a 1D on a Cup team.

Zib, nah. He stacked PP points vs a very overmatch Caps team. Nico totally shut him down last year outside of a very few quiet assists. He only went off in 21-22 when facing the Pens 3G and Crosby out. If they want to win a Cup then guys have to elevate vs top/elite competition. No one has this series outside of Laf and Igor.

Kreider is what he is. He's a pure goal scorer, deflections and on the rush. If he's not scoring he's not contributing. Finally saw him start to throw some hits in G4&G5. He's a big guy with a power forward profile yet doesn't use it.

Panarin, yes. Legit concern. Incredible season but everyone was waiting to see how it went in the POs. His game isn't suited to the POs imo. Plays a perimeter game. That doesn't work vs the elite teams in the POs. Doesn't go to the dirty areas etc...

I think what they ran into last year was the result of a flawed roster, Tank and Kane were not what they needed at all. Once the PPs dried up after the first 2 games, NJ had their way 5v5. Same w/ Carolina this year except their goaltending killed them. Now vs FL, the matchup everyone wanted to see it's what everyone expected. This core isn't good enough to win imo, they don't play the right way, aren't willing to do what it takes.

If you think Fox doesn't take over games, you don't watch enough Adam Fox. He's absolutely lethal. It sounds like most of your opinions on NYR players were formed in the series last year, which is a tiny sample size. There's rarely a player who had a good series on a team that lost in the first round. Forget the Devils series. Look at the last 40-50 playoff games as a whole.

Your breakdown of Mika's past production is ridiculous. If you have to add THAT many qualifiers, then you're searching for reasons to dislike the player instead of concluding what your eyes should tell you. He's an excellent player on the PP and at 5v5. He's almost never not productive. Even his worst games of playoffs, his last two, he had 6 SOG in Game 4 and two assists in Game 5.

Rangers 5v5 issues are a team thing, not any individual player. It's hard for the offense to get into rhythm when the defense is a black hole of puck possession. And when the opposing team plays with a better structure.

This whole thread is basically, "Proven playoff and regular season performer has one bad series, is suddenly not good in the playoffs forever".

 

[albator71]

As a Rangers fan I am embarrassed to call this thing part of my team. Soft and disengaged- you can’t win a cup with a guy like that unless you have ALOT of other pieces. You win in spite of that guy.

He is an embarrassment to NYC sports.

So what you're saying is that Ottawa won that trade???

 

[Sdevils42]

If you think Fox doesn't take over games, you don't watch enough Adam Fox. He's absolutely lethal. It sounds like most of your opinions on NYR players were formed in the series last year, which is a tiny sample size. There's rarely a player who had a good series on a team that lost in the first round. Forget the Devils series. Look at the last 40-50 playoff games as a whole.

Your breakdown of Mika's past production is ridiculous. If you have to add THAT many qualifiers, then you're searching for reasons to dislike the player instead of concluding what your eyes should tell you. He's an excellent player on the PP and at 5v5. He's almost never not productive. Even his worst games of playoffs, his last two, he had 6 SOG in Game 4 and two assists in Game 5.

Rangers 5v5 issues are a team thing, not any individual player. It's hard for the offense to get into rhythm when the defense is a black hole of puck possession. And when the opposing team plays with a better structure.

This whole thread is basically, "Proven playoff and regular season performer has one bad series, is suddenly not good in the playoffs forever".

I mean watch Fox compared to Forsling either who is extremely underrated. Guy is a master in his own zone, positioning, active stick while not delivering bone crushing hits. He's scored big goals and carries the play forward.

Mika, again we're just going to have to differ I guess. When the lights are the brightest he doesn't show up. I'm not talking about 2 years ago. Talking about what I've seen over the last 2 POs. He did nothing vs CAR and has done nothing vs FL when they need him the most.

Rangers 5v5 has been an issue for years. The book on them is they're willing to cede puck possession, play possum on defense, let their elite goalie bail them out and then kill on the counter or the PP. That's literally what they've been and what they are.

When I watch my team I am extremely critical of them and believe guys should be held accountable. If Mika was 23/24 sure there might be another level to get to the ceiling. He's 31, he's reached his ceiling.

 

[matsqq]

I mean watch Fox compared to Forsling either who is extremely underrated. Guy is a master in his own zone, positioning, active stick while not delivering bone crushing hits. He's scored big goals and carries the play forward.

Mika, again we're just going to have to differ I guess. When the lights are the brightest he doesn't show up. I'm not talking about 2 years ago. Talking about what I've seen over the last 2 POs. He did nothing vs CAR and has done nothing vs FL when they need him the most.

Rangers 5v5 has been an issue for years. The book on them is they're willing to cede puck possession, play possum on defense, let their elite goalie bail them out and then kill on the counter or the PP. That's literally what they've been and what they are.

When I watch my team I am extremely critical of them and believe guys should be held accountable. If Mika was 23/24 sure there might be another level to get to the ceiling. He's 31, he's reached his ceiling.

Mika had three points in a single period against Carolina , but then you remove that by saying that "it was just a single game" to fit your narrative. You can't do things like that with statistics or you will get whatever result you want.

The next game their opponents put extreme emphasis on Zibanejad which opens up for other players.
And for every great center there is a guy like Forsling or Fox so you can't demand that they put up numbers all the time . Next time someone else have to step up.

I see a lot of these posts, Fox has a couple of bad games and suddenly he is not elite anymore. Might be injuries , bad luck or whatever ..

But I agree with the poster you quoted, ppl will always find their qualifiers , removing certain games, etc. But the conclusions drawn will always be of lower quality.

This post was about Zibanejad and he has more than one point per game in playoffs since 2019/2020, more than any other on the team the latest years . When I said it was better than the competition I meant more than any other player on the team by about 10%. There are 14 players that have better stats than Z in the league for points per game, total, in that period. (among them MacKinnon, McDavid, Makar etc) 6 of them are centers, McDavid , MacKinnon, Draisaitl; Eichel, Point and Kadri

 

[Rsswmu]

I mean watch Fox compared to Forsling either who is extremely underrated. Guy is a master in his own zone, positioning, active stick while not delivering bone crushing hits. He's scored big goals and carries the play forward.

Mika, again we're just going to have to differ I guess. When the lights are the brightest he doesn't show up. I'm not talking about 2 years ago. Talking about what I've seen over the last 2 POs. He did nothing vs CAR and has done nothing vs FL when they need him the most.

Rangers 5v5 has been an issue for years. The book on them is they're willing to cede puck possession, play possum on defense, let their elite goalie bail them out and then kill on the counter or the PP. That's literally what they've been and what they are.

When I watch my team I am extremely critical of them and believe guys should be held accountable. If Mika was 23/24 sure there might be another level to get to the ceiling. He's 31, he's reached his ceiling.

The Fox commentary is bad. Fox before this year had 31 points in 27 career playoff games and was consistently the Rangers best defensive defenseman.

I agree he wasn’t great last year in the playoffs still had 8 points in 7 games. This year he is a shadow of himself because he is skating on one leg. He looks super slow, lindgren has been pinching in more than him because he can’t do the things he normally does. The Rangers are not a good enough team to overcome his injury.

 

[mrhockey193195]

What’s the science behind disappearing acts we’ve seen like a half dozen this playoffs from top stars

Part of it is certain players don't perform as well under pressure, and part of it is that the rules seem to change in the playoffs for some reason. The amount of interference that goes uncalled is a huge factor and disproportionately effects skill players who are not particularly physical.

Take the end of the 3rd period in game 4. In the regular season, Forsling likely doesn't pull Zibanejad down (or if he does, it's an easy penalty) and it becomes a 2-on-1 with Zib as the receiver of the pass/shooter, a situation with a reasonable chance of him scoring.