The New York Rangers’ front office continues to seek significant changes to the roster in order to shake up this underperforming team. One such change that should help the club play better, though, doesn’t involve a trade and should probably be made immediately.
It’s high time for coach Peter Laviolette to bench center Mika Zibanejad, who’s struggled so mightily this season that the club really might not have a choice anymore. The one-time No. 1 center isn’t just unable to find the two-way game that allowed him to become one of the top pivots in the NHL over the past several seasons — he’s actually hindering the Rangers’ chances of winning on a nightly basis now, often significantly.
Zibanejad was shockingly ineffective again in the Rangers’ 3-1 road victory over the Dallas Stars on Friday that snapped a three-game losing streak. Though the Blueshirts managed to come out on top, Zibanejad looked completely overwhelmed in his own zone once more, in a game that might have been among his worst in a season full of downright ugly performances.
Mik Zibanejad’s entire game has completely deteriorated
Zibanejad’s low-effort attempt to defend Jamie Benn resulted in the Stars’ power forward breezing around the Rangers center to apparently open the scoring 1:09 into the game. Laviolette successfully challenged the play for offsides, though, and the video review led to the goal being waved off.
Zibanejad’s reprieve didn’t last long. His failure to aggressively engage Roope Hintz and lift his stick in the slot gave the Stars forward an easy whack at the rebound of a Nils Lundkvist shot just 37 seconds later, giving Dallas the 1-0 lead — this one for real.
Zibanejad looked lost in the offensive zone too, his once ever-present dynamic skating and attacking of the net completely absent. In 17:27 of ice time, he failed to record a shot on goal and was minus-1, leaving him at a staggering minus-13 over his past 15 games and minus-18 for the season.
The 31-year-old was a combined plus-81 over the previous five seasons. He has just six goals — four at even strength — and 15 assists this season.
Why is this happening? There are a multitude of possible reasons. The problem is, none of them really matter.
Much has been made of the supposed rift between general manager Chris Drury and the players over Drury’s removal of Barclay Goodrow and captain Jacob Trouba from the roster since the start of the summer. It’s impossible to know if Zibanejad is one of the players possibly being weighed down by that perceived “grievance,” but if so, enough is enough. It’s past time for the Rangers to move beyond that.
Some speculation has also centered on Zibanejad’s introspective, sensitive nature, and how criticism of his performance in last season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs has dogged him into 2024-25. If that’s the case, the player who averaged more than a point per game from 2019-23 also has to find a way to put that disappointment behind him and block out the noise of opinions that are irrelevant to now.
Finally, some observers have wondered whether Zibanejad is beginning to decline physically, — the powerful, nimble skating that fueled his ability to pile up points and keep up with opposing No. 1 centers defensively is no longer present in his arsenal. That’s a bigger potential problem than the first two, one that would be much more alarming if it is the case, especially since he’s just 31 years old.
But for Laviolette and the Rangers, there really isn’t the opportunity to conduct an investigation of sorts into what is ailing Zibanejad. They are a better team without him on the ice right now, and time out of the lineup will benefit the club in the short term and perhaps the player in the long term.
Jonny Brodzinski looks like better option than Mika Zibanejad
Scratching someone who’s set to make $8.5 million annually over the next five seasons is hardly an intricate solution, but the bottom line is that the Rangers can’t afford to just keep running him out there. Zibanejad’s underlying metrics aren’t just bad, they’re dreadful, with a 43.3 expected goal share and 71 high-danger chances for to 94 against. His 29 giveaways in 32 games have him on pace to blow past last season’s total of 46 in 81 contests by next month, and the collapse of his long-time partnership with close friend Chris Kreider as an offense- and possession-driving duo has been as detrimental to the Rangers in this trying season as anything.
Removing Zibanejad from the equation as even the third-line center is painful but necessary. Filip Chytil and Vincent Trocheck have been much better than him and can assume the top-six roles in the middle. Journeyman center Jonny Brodzinski is hardly an appealing option to move into the bottom six on an extended basis, but even he has better metrics than Zibanejad, with the club outchancing and outscoring opponents at 5-on-5 when Brodzinski is on the ice (neither is the case with Zibanejad, with the Rangers getting outscored by a shocking 25-12 when he’s on at 5-on-5).
Of course, Zibanejad does play against better opponents than Brodzinski, typically the best players on other teams.
Putting Zibanejad in the press box might send a message, but that’s not really the point now. His lackluster play is all but dictating the urgency to pull him from the lineup. Yes, it’s been that bad.
Zibanejad appears to need a break from the game, and the Rangers need a break from him. That’s harsh, but there’s little point in denying it. How long such a hiatus would last would be fluid, depending on how the team is performing and whether injury or other underperformance opens the door for him to come back in.
Laviolette can’t keep playing guys based on their history, and none of his team’s ostensible top players has been worse this season. That should make subtracting Zibanejad a relatively easy call, not an extreme one, as the Rangers work desperately to right the ship and salvage their season.
