Rangers Reportedly Trying To Make It Work With Zibanejad

Mika Zibanejad's last year on the New York Rangers has been an interesting one and nobody exactly knows what the future holds. What has been reported by Elliotte Freidman is that "it's very clear the Rangers are working with Mika Zibanejad; they're trying to figure out a way to make it work; you never know if it'll continue, but the bottom line is, this season is not starting the way the last two did (involving the trade noise)."

It was previously reported ahead of free agency opening that the Rangers were working with Zibanejad to find him a better place to play as he could use a change in scenery. Frank Seravalli said that he doesn't think anyone is legitimately interested in acquiring Zibanejad and his contract is buyout proof.

The Rangers aren't trading Zibanejad without his approval as he has a full no-move clause for four more years until there is only a modified no-trade clause for the final year of his deal. His cap hit is also $8.5 million AAV, so it's likely that the Rangers would have to retain around $1-1.5 million AAV in a trade. They have all of their retention spots available.

The 32-year-old was much better on the wing last season after J.T. Miller was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks and took over the center position in the top-6. Zibanejad received Selke Trophy votes in four of the previous five seasons before 2024-25, but his -22 compared to the rest of the team didn't help things at all. He still played nearly three minutes on the power play per game and played exactly two minutes on the penalty kill per game.

Having him play as the third line center might create a little more depth for the team, but he will not rebound and have the production of a $8.5 million player. Zibanejad did still have 20 goals and 62 points, but that is his lowest goals-per-game since 2013-14 when he was 20 years old and his lowest points-per-game since 2017-18. I think the best option for the Rangers would be to continue to play him on the wing of Miller where he finished the season much better than he started. If his confidence is high offensively, he might rebound defensively. But he would at least be providing some value.