There is no doubt that the one for one trade that took place back in July 2016 involving the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators ended up being one-sided.
In that deal, the Blueshirts traded popular player Derick Brassard to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Mika Zibanejad. At the time of the move, no one was sure what to think.
As mentioned above, Brassard was popular amongst his teammates and the fans. He had a knack for scoring big goals in both the regular season and the playoffs, he was one of the team’s most consistent point producers, and he was someone who helped make another former popular Ranger, Mats Zuccarello, into the terrific player he is today with the Minnesota Wild.
When it came to Zibanejad, 31, there was no doubt that the Rangers were getting a good player. He was coming off a career year in which he had 51 points on 21 goals and 30 assists.
Fast forward to now and it is clear that the Rangers won the trade by a country mile. Brassard ended up never being the same player that he was with the Rangers on the other teams he played for while Zibanejad has gone on to be one of the most productive Blueshirts in franchise history.
With all of that said, last season was somewhat of a quiet one for Zibanejad. He finished the regular season with 72 points on 26 goals and 46 assists and then added 16 points on three goals and 13 assists in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Now, those numbers certainly are not bad. In the regular season, he was fourth on the team in goals, fourth on the team in assists, and fifth on the team in points while being second on the team in scoring in the playoffs.
There are several good reasons to believe that Zibanejad is poised to have a big season. For starters, producing is all he has done since joining the Rangers in the 2016-17 season.
Just take a look at his numbers since becoming a member of the franchise:
- 2016-17: 14 goals and 23 assists for 37 points in 56 games.
- 2017-18: 27 goals and 20 assists for 47 points in 72 games.
- 2018-19: 30 goals and 44 assists for 74 points in 82 games.
- 2019-20: 41 goals and 34 assists for 75 points in 57 games.
- 2020-21: 24 goals and 26 assists for 50 points in 56 games.
- 2021-22: 29 goals and 52 assists for 81 points in 81 games.
- 2022-23: 39 goals and 52 assists for 91 points in 82 games.
- 2023-24: 26 goals and 46 assists for 72 points in 81 games.
If you are counting at home, that is 230 goals and 297 assists for 527 points in 567 games as a Blueshirt. I think any hockey pundit would tell you that those numbers are impressive and show just how consistent he has been since joining the Rangers.
Secondly, Zibanejad is one of the most skilled centers out there. He has great vision, patience with the puck, plays with a lot of speed, and also has a terrific shot.
Shooting the puck is something that Zibanejad needs to get back to doing with more regularity this upcoming season. Yes, he took a lot of shots last season (221), but if he can find a way to increase that total a bit, the puck should find the back of the net more.
Lastly, Zibanejad more than likely knows that his team’s Cup window is starting to close. They have gone to the Eastern Conference Finals in two of the last three seasons and have come up empty both times as they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers, respectively.
If the Rangers want to give themselves a chance to win hockey’s Holy Grail for the first time in 31 years, Zibanejad is going to have to play a big part in that. Based on his history with the Rangers when it comes to coming up big and being consistent when it matters most, there is no doubt that Zibanejad has what it takes to help take the Blueshirts to the promised land.
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