After trading Chris Kreider this summer, Mika Zibanejad became the New York Rangers‘ longest-tenured player. Zibanejad is entering his 10th season with the team, and his performance this season will determine the Rangers’ success. He arrived in New York as a young player still trying to find his way in the league and turned into the superstar the team needed.
Trade With The Ottawa Senators
The Rangers made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 and Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final in 2015. But in the summer of 2016, they were coming off a First-Round exit thanks to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It seemed that the team’s window to win was closing, and changes needed to be made. On July 18, 2016, the Rangers traded Derrick Brassard and a 2018 seventh-round pick to the Senators for Zibanejad and a 2018 second-round pick.
At the time, Brassard was coming off a 27-goal, 58-point campaign and was a true playoff performer. The Sens wanted more experience in their lineup, while the Rangers were looking to get younger and shake up their core. So, they traded the 28-year-old Brassard for the 23-year-old Zibanejad. While Brassard only stayed in Ottawa for a season and a half, Zibanejad is still a key player for the Rangers.
Zibanejad Became a Star Player
At the time of the trade, Zibanejad was coming off the best season of his career, with 21 goals and 51 points in 81 games. His first season in New York was not his best, as he missed 26 games due to injury and finished the season with 14 goals and 37 points in 56 games. The team also began a rebuild in the middle of the 2017-18 season, so he did not have a lot of talent to support him. He finally had his breakout season in 2018-19, with 30 goals and 74 points in 82 games.
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From that season on, he continued to grow his game and developed into a top NHL center. During the 2019-20 season, he scored 41 goals and 75 points in 57 games – including time missed due to injury and the COVID-19 shutdown in March.
Zibanejad has scored 20 or more goals in each of the past five seasons, including 39 goals and a career-high 91 points in 2022-23. He was also a major factor in the Rangers’ first playoff run coming out of their rebuild in 2021-22, scoring 10 goals and 24 points in 20 playoff games as the Rangers made it to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Zibanejad Needs to Step up This Season
The pressure is on for Zibanejad to return to form after two down seasons. After his 39-goal, 91-point campaign in 2022-23, he dropped to 26 goals and 72 points in 81 games in 2023-24, and 20 goals and 62 points in 82 games last season. The Rangers were a disaster in 2024-25, partly because the team’s top players struggled throughout the season, especially Zibanejad.
The one positive is that his play improved dramatically after the Rangers traded for J.T. Miller. Zibanejad was moved to Miller’s right wing and played the final 32 games of the season on that line, scoring 11 goals and 33 points in those games. He will take up the same position again in 2025-26, and if he and Miller can continue to develop chemistry, this could be a big bounce-back campaign for Zibanejad and the Rangers.
After a few poor seasons, Zibanejad needs to get back to his high level of play because he is a key player for the Rangers, and they need him to be at his best if they want to get back to being contenders in the Eastern Conference.
