It's Time to Talk About Mika Zibanejad

[Phil]

He has two goals and 10 points through 16 games, which isn't horrible, but almost all of it has come on the PP. The Rangers aren't a great 5v5 team in general, but Zib's ES numbers are horrendous. Panarin leads the team with 15 ES points. Zib has three. Three. Tied with Kakko and Blake Wheeler, both of whom — and this is putting it lightly — suck. Zib also has just one ES goal, putting him in esteemed company with other dynamic forwards such as Barclay Goodrow and Blake Wheeler again.

 

I don't want to hear this "he always starts slow," shit either. First off, it's not true, and second, even if it was, the idea that it's acceptable that the team's $8.5 million dollar 1C takes the first 30% of the season off every year and it's just OK is a joke.

 

 

[RichieNextel305]

I feel like he’s a fucking basket case. When he’s on fire, he rides the momentum. But when things aren’t falling, he looks so downtrodden and out of it. I’m not trying to sound like a psychiatrist here, but having seen this guy for now 7 years, it just seems obvious. 
 

I agree that the notion he “always starts slow” is off. But what isn’t off is his Jekyll and Hyde ways. He’ll go through a stretch like this and then score like 12 goals in 4 games and level it out. To me, as good as it is during that stretch, it’s also a miss when you need to deal with the bad stretches, like this one. His consistency has been bad. It’s too hot and cold for more liking, and his even strength production (or lack of it) seeps into his power play effectiveness too. And that’s where I bring the mental thing back into it, because with his struggles lately, he’s gripping it tight on the power play now too. He’s missed the net this year it seems like on just about every one-timer he’s taken.

I just am growing to hate the inconsistency. Yeah the highs are extreme but the lows are low. He’s done nothing this year and we’re a few days from December. I think we all agree we won’t be shocked when Mika eventually goes on one of his scorching hot streaks. But I’m getting sick of dealing with the red hot/ice cold and would like to see more consistency from him. And less fucking moping.

Edited November 21, 2023 by RichieNextel305

[Sharpshooter]

Mental case and new Dad is a bad combination. I do think that has something to do with it. It happened to Igor last year. Also, like has already been discussed, just break up he and Kreider. I also wonder if the new coaching and the new system is a factor as well. This can apply to any coaching staff in the league. Some players excel, some players do not. Look at Trocheck. He plays just the style Lav likes and he's thriving. It's been the complete opposite for Mika. Not that he can't excel ever again, but I also think Lav's coaching style is not conducive to Zibanejad's style.

Edited November 21, 2023 by Sharpshooter

[siddious]

We have a trade zib thread for a reason. Guy stinks. 

[4EverRangerFrank]

While I give credence to the 'new dad' scenario, how do we explain the highs and lows over the previous years? Is it just something that's part of the package and we have to swallow hard to accept? Everyone can agree that the one-timer from the face-off circle has run its course. You would think that he would hit the net 110% of the time considering how many times he takes that shot in practice and in games. Now he misses the net constantly and we are rightly getting tired of it. $8.5M tired! Are we at a crossroads yet? 

 

Someone posted recently that it might be time to trade Mika. There are many teams who would agree that a 'new environment' might cure his ills and that he is still a very productive player. I agree with this thinking, partly. I'm also somewhat concerned that he is a beloved Ranger and trading him MIGHT change some of our locker room chemistry. I know, everyone says pull up your big boy pants and deal with it, that this is professional hockey - and I get all that but it still remains a possibility. Do we risk it?

 

We have to take a very hard look at what the potential return would be before we pull the trade trigger and certainly want to avoid shooting our own feet. Make no mistake about it, Mika is a core part of our success warts and all. Happy I'm not making this call. Drury has some soul-searching to do...and a few phone calls to make.

 

[Sharpshooter]

Yeah, it's not only that the opposition can read that one-timer a mile away, now it's not even hitting the net. The steep drop-off in accuracy is more concerning than anything right now. If he's losing that, what's he providing otherwise?

[Pete]

What is there to talk about? I don't care who doesn't want to hear he starts slow, he does. He isn't going anywhere. He'll find his game, he always does. 

 

Splitting him and Kreider is a start. 

[Ozzy]

Just now, Pete said:

What is there to talk about? I don't care who doesn't want to hear he starts slow, he does. He isn't going anywhere. He'll find his game, he always does. 

 

Splitting him and Kreider is a start. 

 

One loss in 32 days and we're trading one of our best players?  You guys make me crack up in the middle of phone calls while I'm reading this stuff!!  LOL

 

The guy's gonna heat up and everything's gonna be cool.  He's too good!

 

@Pete...we got this, man!! 

[RJWantsTheCup]

Trading Zibanejad is even more of a fallacy than trading Panarin.  #1 centers don't grow on trees.   Only way he gets traded is when the Rangers give up on chances of winning a cup and decide to tear it all down.  

[Sharpshooter]

lol Yeah, definitely not trading him. The shot accuracy thing is still a bit concerning, but I am not at all worried he won't start scoring eventually. It's just been missing a lot.

[Pete]

2 minutes ago, Ozzy said:

 

One loss in 32 days and we're trading one of our best players?  You guys make me crack up in the middle of phone calls while I'm reading this stuff!!  LOL

 

The guy's gonna heat up and everything's gonna be cool.  He's too good!

 

@Pete...we got this, man!! 

 

2 minutes ago, RJWantsTheCup said:

Trading Zibanejad is even more of a fallacy than trading Panarin.  #1 centers don't grow on trees.   Only way he gets traded is when the Rangers give up on chances of winning a cup and decide to tear it all down.  

Yea, I'd love to see who we're replacing our #1 right shot center who plays in all situations and is capable of 90pts and 40G with... For $8.5M... people just don't think these things through. 

[4EverRangerFrank]

Boy, that touched a nerve! 

[RichieNextel305]

Yeah, no. Not advocating trading Mika at all. He is the kind of guy who can all by himself win you a playoff series. When hes hot, he’s scorched Earth.

 

I just wish there wasn’t as many inconsistencies with him being so up and so down.

[Phil]

16 minutes ago, Pete said:

What is there to talk about? I don't care who doesn't want to hear he starts slow, he does. He isn't going anywhere. He'll find his game, he always does. 

 

Splitting him and Kreider is a start. 

 

Except he doesn't.

 

First 20 games in every year he's been a Ranger:

 

2016–17: 7 goals, 17 points. 5 PPP. 0.85 P/GP
2017–18: 9 goals, 19 points. 10 PPP. 0.95 P/GP
2018–19: 7 goals, 17 points. 6 PPP. 0.85 P/GP
2019–20: 11 goals, 23 points. 7 PPP. 1.15 P/GP
2020–21: 2 goals, 7 points. 3 PPP. 0.35 P/GP — This was Covid + shortened year.
2021–22: 4 goals, 16 points. 6 PPP. 0.8 P/GP
2022–23: 10 goals, 22 point. 12 PPP. 1.1 P/GP
2023–24: 2 goals, 10 points. 6 PPP — 0.5 P/GP — 16 games played so far.

 

I accept he's going nowhere. I'm not suggesting trading him. They need to find a way to get him going. If that means splitting him from Kreider, great. I'm all ears, cause he sucks right now. He's literally just barely better than Covid-Zib at the moment.

[Pete]

8 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Except he doesn't.

 

First 20 games in every year he's been a Ranger:

 

2016–17: 7 goals, 17 points. 5 PPP. 0.85 P/GP
2017–18: 9 goals, 19 points. 10 PPP. 0.95 P/GP
2018–19: 7 goals, 17 points. 6 PPP. 0.85 P/GP
2019–20: 11 goals, 23 points. 7 PPP. 1.15 P/GP
2020–21: 2 goals, 7 points. 3 PPP. 0.35 P/GP — This was Covid + shortened year.
2021–22: 4 goals, 16 points. 6 PPP. 0.8 P/GP
2022–23: 10 goals, 22 point. 12 PPP. 1.1 P/GP
2023–24: 2 goals, 10 points. 6 PPP — 0.5 P/GP — 16 games played so far.

 

I accept he's going nowhere. I'm not suggesting trading him. They need to find a way to get him going. If that means splitting him from Kreider, great. I'm all ears, cause he sucks right now. He's literally just barely better than Covid-Zib at the moment.

So let's check back in after 20 games. Because you know he's capable of popping off 10 goals in five games. And then we'll call this the nothing burger that it is. 

[Ozzy]

Call me crazy, but I'd just leave him be.  He's used to Kreider, and they have chemistry...ok, it's been cold of late but if there's any change to be made, I'd take a look at moving Vesey up.  He's been in high gear all season, and can play that right side well.

 

Other than that, I'd just leave him alone and let them get their shit together.

[Phil]

35 minutes ago, Pete said:

So let's check back in after 20 games. Because you know he's capable of popping off 10 goals in five games. And then we'll call this the nothing burger that it is. 

 

Four*

 

And deal.

 

I fully expect him to score like back-to-back five-goal games now LOL.

[fletch]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

What is there to talk about? I don't care who doesn't want to hear he starts slow, he does. He isn't going anywhere. He'll find his game, he always does. 

 

Splitting him and Kreider is a start. 

Small sample size of 16 games, every player has hot and cold stretches.  Full-stop.  Having said that:

We are making special efforts to jumpstart Wheeler by giving him time with Kreider and Zib and pretending that putting 3 aging vets on the same line is a good strategy.

We are helping Laf by putting him on a line with Panarin.

We are burying Kakko on a checking line with Bonino and Cuylle and pretending that is good for young player development.

Watch the difference in PP1 and PP2 units and observe how much of our offense is reliant on Panarin right now.

 

Try other combos, how about:

Panarin-Zib-Kakko

Kreider-Trocheck-Laf

Cuylle-Bonino-Wheeler

 

Emphasis of splitting the youth up with the vets.

[Ozzy]

16 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Four*

 

And deal.

 

I fully expect him to score like back-to-back five-goal games now LOL.

 

Have some faith, Boss!!!  We got this!!!  Mika was always one of your faves too!!  He'll show up...no worries.

 

Think of this though...WHEN Mika gets hot, who do opposing teams cover on the PP??  Good god!! it'll be coming from all directions!!!  ...with Kredier in front too!!  We're going to be a tough out in a few months!

 

If we build it.... 

[Jdog99]

bring back zucc, or buch... or someone else who can fill the role they did...

[RJWantsTheCup]

Haven’t had a chance to look it up but if memory serves me right Zibanejad has an affinity for scoring a lot of his goals in March.  

[BrooksBurner]

I agree that trading Zibanejad is not on the table. I don't know why that's been getting brought up except for shits and giggles, and EA Sports "what if" scenarios for fun. He's got an NMC until 2030 and if there's one guy who absolutely isn't going to want to leave NYC, it's him. We are also only 15 games into the season and the guy has been more productive than this for several years, so let's calm down. He deserves criticism, and maybe some adjusted expectations for who he is as a player, but it needs to be realistic. I think @Phil's post is being realistic.

 

The Bad:

 

We have been pretending Zibanejad is something he is not because he stacks points on the PP. I've said for a while now that he was a low end 1C at even strength, and a mid tier 1C with PP production included. What we've got right now is production regression across both facets of the game, and that is taking him out of the 1C conversation and into the 2C conversation.

 

The Good:

 

His line is still rarely getting scored on. This was a trend that started 3 seasons ago and gotten progressively better every year. Yes, even under GG! That lines defensive metrics are so good it's scary. It is basically a shutdown line for Laviolette. Maybe that's what he is commanding out of them, especially when the Panarin line is leaking goals against in exchange for the offense they are providing. I've also noticed Zibanejad hanging around higher in the OZ, and first man back to the DZ, than I am used to seeing, so I don't think the muted production is all on him.

 

As far as the "separate Kreider/Zib" discussion, Kreider has just as much weight into that line being a shutdown defensive line as Zib. They work extremely well together on that side of the coin, even if the offense hasn't been there. If you break that up, you lose that. I'm not sure them being a shut down line to this degree, in exchange for offensive, is necessarily a bad thing for two guys who make their living on the PP. I think you stick with them and look for the defense to eventually turn into some more offense. BTW, the line is marginally better offensively with Wheeler than Kakko, but more than marginally worse defensively with Wheeler instead of Kakko. The translation here is Wheeler stinks.

 

 

 

[Jdog99]

whats scary/frustrating is there have been multiple stretches in the past when Zib looked like a top 10 NHL player

[Br4d]

5 minutes ago, Jdog99 said:

whats scary/frustrating is there have been multiple stretches in the past when Zib looked like a top 10 NHL player

 

Never.  That's our hometown blinders.

 

What he's looked like in the past for long stretches was a top 5 Two-way Center.  That would put him in the top 25 or maybe 50 in the NHL overall.

 

 

[Flynn]

12-3-1 and your best all around forward has played like shit. 

 

He will flip the switch at some point.. And I'd rather have the Sahara dry spell in November.