After the season the New York Rangers just had, fans have every right to want to see this team get blown up and some of these top players get traded this offseason. While it would be a good thing for the core to be shaken up, it is much easier said than done. Of the seven highest-paid players on the team going into next season, five of them have full no-move clauses (NMC) in their contracts. This means that even if general manager(GM) Chris Drury wanted to trade one of them, it would be up to the player if they wanted to move, and if they don’t, Drury would have no choice but to keep them.
One of the players that has come up frequently in these kinds of discussions is Mika Zibanejad. He is coming off his worst season as a Ranger and still has another five years left on his deal, in which he is making $8.5 million per season. His NMC is in effect until the final year of the deal, so unless he asks out of New York, he won’t be going anywhere. While many will see this as a negative, the Rangers keeping Zibanejad at least for next season might not be such a bad thing. In this piece, we will go over three reasons why that is the case.
New Coach Could Rejuvenate His Game
The first significant move made by the team this offseason was hiring Mike Sullivan as the 38th head coach in franchise history. He replaces Peter Laviolette, who was head coach for just two seasons, just like his predecessor, Gerard Gallant. It has been a revolving door of head coaches throughout Drury’s tenure as GM, but now he has the guy he wanted since the beginning. With Sullivan now being locked in as the new head coach, he should be able to bring some stability to this team that was missing this season, and he has a track record of getting the most out of the players he has coached. While Zibanejad isn’t on the level of Sidney Crosby, he still has all the talent that is needed to be a top-line center in the NHL, and maybe Sullivan can be the coach that helps him find that talent again.
Zibanejad had two of his best offensive seasons under Gallant, with 81 and 91 points, respectively. He then had two of his worst offensive seasons the following two years under Laviolette, with 72 and 58 points, respectively. Was it age catching up to him that made him start to slow down, or was it Laviolette’s system that caused the downturn in offensive production? While both things can be true simultaneously, having a new coach and a new voice in his ear could help Zibanejad find his offensive game. The Rangers are going to need him to have a bounce-back season, and it starts with Sullivan helping him find his game again.
Could Up His Trade Value with a Bounce Back Season
If the Rangers could move on from Zibanejad this summer, and they didn’t have any restrictions, they would be selling low on a player coming off two very poor seasons by his standards. In any potential deal, they would either have to give up other assets in the trade just for the other team to take on his contract, or they would have to retain salary for the next five years, which is something no team ever wants to do. The trade would not benefit the Rangers in any way that could help them return to being Stanley Cup contenders next season. The best bet they could make is that Zibanejad returns to form next season and shows everyone that he still has plenty left in the tank, because that would up his trade value in a future trade the team wants to make, if it ever came to that point.
Related: Rangers Should See What They Can Get in Trades for Othmann & Schneider
Even if Drury could trade him this offseason, selling low on him now would send the wrong message to the team because if they don’t get an impact player in return for him, it tells them that Drury doesn’t have faith in them to turn it around next season. Zibanejad, having a bounce-back season, helps both parties involved because if he can get back to being an 80-90 point player, it means that the team should be back in contention for a Stanley Cup. It also shows other teams that he can still be productive and that he could be valuable to them if they wanted to trade for him, and he accepted a trade to another team. If he doesn’t have a bounce-back season, any idea or hopes of trading him should be thrown out the window.
Who Would Replace Him Next Season If He Were to Be Traded?
As mentioned earlier, if he were to be traded now, the Rangers would not be getting any impact players in return because they would be selling low. While many would argue that they would win the trade anyway because they would be clearing out his cap hit, there are no players available this summer that could be a good replacement for Zibanejad. They would be losing a top-six center or even a winger if they wanted to move him back there next season, and it would be foolish to think that a player like Gabe Perreault or Brennan Othmann could just step into the top-six and immediately become an impact player when they haven’t gotten to chance to really play in that kind of role before.
The free agent market is very thin this offseason, but one name that could be available that some fans have wanted to see is Sam Bennett. While he would be a good fit for what Drury is looking for, the problem would be the potential contract he would get. They would essentially be getting rid of Zibanejad just to bring in another Zibanejad-type contract. Bennett is one of the top centers on the free agent market, and teams are going to overpay for him because of that and because he is a Stanley Cup champion. This would be a horrible decision for Drury to make, and when looking at the rest of the free agent pool, there are no true names that would be an immediate replacement for Zibanejad in the top-six. This is another reason why keeping him and betting on him to have a better season is the right way to go, at least for now.
While moving on from Zibanejad would make a majority of the fan base celebrate, now isn’t the right time to make that move. Even if Drury wanted to, it’s not up to him, and all indications point to Zibanejad returning and wanting to be on the team next season. While many don’t want to see him back, this could end up being a blessing in disguise because if the Rangers can get the player he was from a few seasons ago, they are going to have a much easier time getting back to the playoffs and hopefully contending for the Stanley Cup.
