Player Discussion Mika Zibanejad

[Row I Goon]

For sale by owner - one “Mika Zibanejad Apology” form (expired). Regret to make it available but no foreseeable reason to maintain possession.

 

[leetch99]

No, Mikka will just get wait it out for the coach to be fired.

He'll likely go through at least 2 more after Lavi....

 

[Mike in Houston]

Mika is going to force Laviolette's hand if he doesn't turn it around. Not sure what would be next. I guess swap him out on PP1. They're already reducing 5v5 TOI. I can't imagine Kreider and Smith are thrilled with reduced 5v5 ice. They're collateral damage in all of this.

I don't think we're close to a healthy scratch to try and send a message here.

 

[noncents]

Here we go the "white knight" bullshit because people got called out on garage behavior.

We're not asking, so go outside and touch some grass if you don't like it. This is a website for adults.

no kids in the garage! there's toxic stuff and power tools in there and the automatic doors are dangerous! and cars go in and out all the time! stay out!

 

[tlk]

The disclaimer IS superfluous.

Other than that, we can only hope and wait.

 

[94leetch]

You can't tell me when people talk about his wife wearing the pants, that they don't absolutely think that.

Don't insult my intelligence.

Like saying fans of Rempe "throw bananas in the air" when he steps on the ice? You really believe that happens?

Does anyone think Mika has another issue that we don’t know about (drugs, gambling, etc)? This has to be the fastest decline I've seen in decades. But what if he does not have passion for the game anymore? He is a person like everyone else. I do miss those Brassard playoff goals. At least he showed up during the important times.

Or his multiple concussions are affecting him.

 

[Kravtsov420]

two things come to mind, he changed with the concussions, pretty obvious to see. Other thing is when Buch left

 

[94leetch]

two things come to mind, he changed with the concussions, pretty obvious to see. Other thing is when Buch left

I've read posts describing his play that perfectly encapsulates someone struggling with the effects of concussions.

 

[Mike in Houston]

I've read posts describing his play that perfectly encapsulates someone struggling with the effects of concussions.

I've thought about that. The past concussions along with having a young child might have him avoiding the middle of the ice and staying on the perimeter. I don't know.

 

[will1066]

I've read posts describing his play that perfectly encapsulates someone struggling with the effects of concussions.

Struggling with fear. He hasn't been concussed in like two seasons at least because he plays to avoid any punishing contact.

 

[SA16]

I'm not sure it's really true that they're intentionally reducing his TOI based on poor play. I think it's more circumstance. He had a 9 game stretch last December where he only got 10.6 minutes/game at 5v5. This is just more noticeable since it's the start of the season. He also got his second most 5v5 ice time of the year just three games ago. We'll see as they play more games. Plus, they now have much more of an ability to roll three lines since they have a significantly improved third line. Teams like Dallas and Carolina have done that for years.

 

[will1066]

I'm not sure it's really true that they're intentionally reducing his TOI based on poor play. I think it's more circumstance. He had a 9 game stretch last December where he only got 10.6 minutes/game at 5v5. This is just more noticeable since it's the start of the season. He also got his second most 5v5 ice time of the year just three games ago. We'll see as they play more games. Plus, they now have much more of an ability to roll three lines since they have a significantly improved third line. Teams like Dallas and Carolina have done that for years.

Lavi has been quoted saying he wants to keep his promise of distributing more TOI to Chytil and the third line. He was also quoted saying Zib (and Kreider and Smith) still gets lots of playing time via special teams.

 

[DelZottoHitTheNetJK]

This dude in 2022 was something different. Flying around the ice. He couldn't be stopped. He has the capacity to be a consistent 45-50 goal scorer in this league.

The problem is..he got paid and I don't think he wants to. His acceleration and top end speed with the pick has gotten noticeably slower over the years. There could be many reasons for that including aging but I have more of a gut feel that other priorities have become more important to him and that's obviously up for interpretation

 

[IDvsEGO]

This dude in 2022 was something different. Flying around the ice. He couldn't be stopped. He has the capacity to be a consistent 45-50 goal scorer in this league.

The problem is..he got paid and I don't think he wants to. His acceleration and top end speed with the pick has gotten noticeably slower over the years. There could be many reasons for that including aging but I have more of a gut feel that other priorities have become more important to him and that's obviously up for interpretation

He isn’t slower. That’s what’s driving everyone crazy. He’s just not expending the same effort.

That’s why we’re upset.

 

[leetch99]

Mika is going to force Laviolette's hand if he doesn't turn it around. Not sure what would be next. I guess swap him out on PP1. They're already reducing 5v5 TOI. I can't imagine Kreider and Smith are thrilled with reduced 5v5 ice. They're collateral damage in all of this.

I don't think we're close to a healthy scratch to try and send a message here.

Kreider can pick the type of play and the pace at which he wants the line to play in a heartbeat...he just chooses not to do so .

 

[SA16]

He isn’t slower. That’s what’s driving everyone crazy. He’s just not expending the same effort.

That’s why we’re upset.

According to the NHL Edge data though he is quite a bit slower.

21-22 max speed: 23.3 mph
22-23 max speed: 23.2 mph
23-24 max speed: 22.4 mph
24-25 max speed: 21.5 mph

Does it actually matter much? I'm not really sure but according to their measurements he isn't as fast as he used to be.

That's not really a surprise though, speed is one of the attributes that declines the quickest and at the youngest age. Kreider has a somewhat similar trend as does Panarin.

All of that being said, I do wonder if they are measuring things a bit differently this year because as a whole the speed in the league is way down. The 10th fastest this year is listed as Mikheyev at 23.2 when the last three years 10th best has been like 23.8 (which would rank 2nd best this year).

 

[DanielBrassard]

According to the NHL Edge data though he is quite a bit slower.

21-22 max speed: 23.3 mph
22-23 max speed: 23.2 mph
23-24 max speed: 22.4 mph
24-25 max speed: 21.5 mph

Does it actually matter much? I'm not really sure but according to their measurements he isn't as fast as he used to be.

That's not really a surprise though, speed is one of the attributes that declines the quickest and at the youngest age. Kreider has a somewhat similar trend as does Panarin.

All of that being said, I do wonder if they are measuring things a bit differently this year because as a whole the speed in the league is way down. The 10th fastest this year is listed as Mikheyev at 23.2 when the last three years 10th best has been like 23.8 (which would rank 2nd best this year).

I don’t know if they are but to my eyes it definitely seems as if the pace of play this season has been much slower this season than in the recent past. If you look at the shots on goal rates they are also way down, about 4 shots per game less on average than 2022 and 2023, almost 2 shots on goal less than last year. Why would the entire league drop in skating speed precipitously like that? It’s either a measurement change or the entire league is drunk.

 

[duhmetreE]

He isn’t slower. That’s what’s driving everyone crazy. He’s just not expending the same effort.

That’s why we’re upset.

I think he’s slower and much weaker.

He’s not training anywhere near enough imo

 

[SA16]

I don’t know if they are but to my eyes it definitely seems as if the pace of play this season has been much slower this season than in the recent past. If you look at the shots on goal rates they are also way down, about 4 shots per game less on average than 2022 and 2023, almost 2 shots on goal less than last year. Why would the entire league drop in skating speed precipitously like that? It’s either a measurement change or the entire league is drunk.

It pretty much has to be either a change in the way they are measuring things or a change in the specifications of the ice surface (not reported to the public). The entire league didn't suddenly just get slower. Skating speed is like pitch velocity. It normalizes incredibly quickly. You can get a pretty good idea of a players maximum speed after just one game.

I don't see much of a difference in shot rate. Maybe just ice time distribution this early? 5v5 this year has a 59.99 CF60 and last year was a 59.88. 5v4 though is way down from 105.52 to 97.51.

 

[BS45]

Color me old school if you will but, if someone states that in their humble opinion they think Mika cares more about DJ'ing then playing hockey for the Rangers, well then they have every right to post that. At the end of the day this forum exists for us to get information and express our opinions on all things NYR.

 

[DanielBrassard]

It pretty much has to be either a change in the way they are measuring things or a change in the specifications of the ice surface (not reported to the public). The entire league didn't suddenly just get slower. Skating speed is like pitch velocity. It normalizes incredibly quickly. You can get a pretty good idea of a players maximum speed after just one game.

I don't see much of a difference in shot rate. Maybe just ice time distribution this early? 5v5 this year has a 59.99 CF60 and last year was a 59.88. 5v4 though is way down from 105.52 to 97.51.

That’s interesting, perhaps PKs are adjusting and becoming far better at taking away time and space on the PP. I just looked at the shot averages because I noticed there were games with really low totals. A lot of games well under 60 total shots.

 

[SA16]

Color me old school if you will but, if someone states that in their humble opinion they think Mika cares more about DJ'ing then playing hockey for the Rangers, well then they have every right to post that. At the end of the day this forum exists for us to get information and express our opinions on all things NYR.

It's a stupid opinion because even if he "cares more about DJing" how is that affecting his hockey game? He's still on the ice for practice. He's still working out. If he wasn't working out and came to camp way out of shape they can terminate his contact. It's happened before. Why does it matter what he likes to do in his free time? That's why it's free time.

 

[Peltz]

I think he’s slower and much weaker.

He’s not training anywhere near enough imo

He may be dumber too. I question a lot of his decisions as of late on the ice.

 

[Peltz]

Color me old school if you will but, if someone states that in their humble opinion they think Mika cares more about DJ'ing then playing hockey for the Rangers, well then they have every right to post that. At the end of the day this forum exists for us to get information and express our opinions on all things NYR.

Putting every ounce of someone's existence into one pursuit is also a recipe for failure, just like not putting in enough time into that one pursuit.

I don't think it's cool to comment on someone's priorities because they have a life outside of one thing if you don't actually have any insight into how he's actually spending his time.


We don't know why he's underperforming. We just know that he is. It could be (and likely is) for reasons outside his DJing. NHL is a hard league and he was, at one point, a top 10 center in the world. I don't question his work ethic.

I do, however, question his health, execution, and hockey IQ right now.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

So his "not good enough" season you picked is the one where he battled post-covid symptoms and missed camp in 20-21. A season he ended as a PPG player. Ok, got it!

I dont even know how to respond to this. You are just making shit up as you go. You even said in a previous post that he has been inconsistent his whole career which is completely wrong. Is he a streaky player, Yes! But that doesnt make him an inconsistent player. He has literally improved statistically every year since he entered the league culminating with his career year in points 22-23. His only down year was last season.

You once again jumped into a conversation and posted based on how you feel about him right now. The version of Mika we have now is not who he was just 2 season ago. Lets hope he gets back to that previous version.

It's not how I feel and it's not all about numbers. First, I never read anything more than conjecture that he had post-Covid symptoms that season. Second, as I said it's not all about numbers, if the PP was good that season he'd have decent numbers just by existing on it. Plus this season he has 7 points in 9 games. Since the 19-20 season he has not started off seasons in an acceptable way even if sometimes his numbers are ok.