A couple of days after declaring the New York Rangers “open for business” in the trade market during a segment on Sportsnet, NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman had a more provocative Blueshirts take on his 32 Thoughts podcast Monday.
Friedman questioned whether Mika Zibanejad logging just 13:04 TOI in the 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday was a result of the Rangers trying to force things with the 31-year-old center, make him feel “uncomfortable” enough so that he either snaps out of his doldrums on the ice or gets so fed up that he agrees to facilitate a trade out of New York.
“They know [Zibanejad] has a really thin skin or he’s really sensitive, so they try and protect him. But right now, what this is, they didn’t care about all of that Sunday,” Friedman stated. “But now the thing you look at is, is that a one-off or is this the Rangers trying to make him uncomfortable to see if in any way, shape or form he may either A) start playing better, because ultimately that’s what everybody wants, or does it get to a point where he says, ‘You know what, if this is the way it’s going to be, I’d rather go somewhere else.'”
There’s much to unpack and understand with all Friedman presented there. First, the underlying tone is that the Rangers played hardball with Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba to remove each veteran from the roster in the past six months. So, Chris Drury and Co. are not concerned about ruffling feathers or angering the players in the Rangers locker room. And it’s surely conceivable that the Rangers could do the same with Zibanejad.
The second part of this is that it might be Drury’s only recourse. Zibanejad has a full no-move clause through 2028-29 in his contract. So, the player has the leverage here. But if you mess with his ice time, drop him in the lineup as he was Sunday, centering for Brett Berard and Jimmy Vesey on the third line, maybe then Zibanejad will look to help plan his exit strategy.
If that is the case, it’s manipulative, for sure. But, listen, if the Rangers are temporarily dropping their No. 1 center into a lesser role to wake him up, reward others (like Filip Chytil) and/or send a message to the group, have at it. It probably needed to be done long before their 30th game of the season Sunday.
“You have to look at this with Zibanejad and say OK, what is this? One-off, or is this the Rangers saying we need to do what we need to do?,” Friedman wondered.
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Zibanejad had not played so few minutes in a game when he wasn’t injured in seven seasons, per Vince Mercogliano of Gannett.
That’s a statement move by coach Peter Laviolette, no matter if he made the decision on his own or at the urging of Drury. Now, let’s see what follows Tuesday when the Rangers visit the Nashville Predators. Who does Zibanejad skate with? What line is he on? How many minutes does he play?
Zibanejad scored his 300th NHL goal in New York’s most recent win last week against the Buffalo Sabres. He’s sitting on 699 points in 878 games, and had 39 goals and 91 points two seasons ago.
But he has only 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) in 30 games this season and is a team-worst minus-15. His XGF is 0.44, per Natural Stat Trick. He’s appeared disengaged and downright non-competitive for stretches, and his defensive miscues have often been mind-boggling and crushing to the Rangers.
Throughout his career, Zibanejad has been notoriously sensitive to criticism and struggles with his confidence. He received plenty of heat during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, finishing without a goal in the final 11 postseason games, including none against the Florida Panthers when he was a ghost in the six-game Eastern Conference Final loss.
Perhaps that carried over into this season. Though it should be noted he dropped from 91 to 72 points year over year the previous two seasons. His issues might be real, and the Rangers could be seeking an out of this relationship, though they need Zibanejad’s help to do that.
That’s what makes Friedman’s take sound pretty plausible.
“I’m not sure where this is going to go with the Rangers. Like I said, I think [Drury] is open for business and will consider anything, and there are some wild rumors flying around about what that organization could do,” Friedman said. “Any player can get benched or moved down the lineup at any time, but … is this a one-off or is this real? Is this the Rangers trying to make Zibanejad uncomfortable?”
