Mika Zibanejad's 2024/25 campaign was a disaster in New York, and now the veteran forward has reflected upon his struggles throughout a disappointing season.
The New York Rangers came into this past NHL season expecting to compete for a Stanley Cup, but in one of the most underwhelming campaigns in recent memory, the team missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs entirely.
New York traded away some of their young names while plenty of veterans continued to struggled, and while he may not have been the teams worst player, the high profile Mika Zibanejad was at the centre of immense criticism.
Weeks after the season finished, the veteran forward has now addressed the tumultuous season that was, and unsurprisingly, he admits that he simply wasn't good enough, noting that this has been the toughest thing he's gone through in his career.
"I think the first couple of months up until December, I don't think it is very good," Zibanejad. I'm not happy with the season as a whole. I feel like mentally what I went through the first few months was probably the toughest I've ever been through in my career in a different way.
This has led to speculation around his future, especially after the veteran forward solid his West Village property early in the off-season, but with a cap hit over $8 million for the next five years, it would be a tough ask for the Rangers to move him.
In an interview with The Athletic, Zibanejad addressed exactly that, revealing why he's not too worried about being moved and why his focus remains on 2025/26 in New York.
"I haven't heard anything. I don't read anything, I don't listen to anything. It's noise."There's a reason why there are clauses like that. It's something that was negotiated and earned. My focus has always been here. My focus has never been on anything else."
It was a bad year for Zibanejad, no one can deny that, but he's been fantastic in his time with the Rangers, and it's highly likely that time will be extended beyond this off-season despite those struggles.
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