In the 90s, Harrison Ford played Tom Clancy's iconic character, Jack Ryan. In his second and final film, Clear and Present Danger, Ford's acting Deputy Director of Intelligence challenges the President of the United States after he sanctions an illegal military conflict. Everyone is accountable, and everyone can be called out. This season, it's time for the New York Rangers' star center, Mika Zibanejad.
Shortly before the COVID lockdowns of 2020, the Washington Capitals descended upon Madison Square Garden, not knowing they were about to see a one-man show. That night, Mika Zibanejad scored 5 goals (including the OT Game Winner) and the Blueshirt fans pumped their fists that they finally got a franchise center for the first time since Messier. Two years later, Zibanejad would lead the Rangers in playoff scoring en route the Conference Finals.
This season is a different story. Mika Zibanejad has struggled mightily and his gaff in Overtime vs the San Jose Sharks was the cherry on the top. The star center of the Rangers "collided" with the San Jose Sharks Jan Ruutta. "Collided" is in quotes because it was clearly a pick by the Sharks' defenseman. The penalty wasn't called as Zibanejad lost his stick, but what to do? Get the Stick, skate to the bench, or stay in the play? Zibanejad elected to get the stick, and by the time he touched it, Ruuta fed Tomas Hertl for the Game Winning goal.
This moment punctuated the bad month of January for the Swedish center. After a 21-point month of December, it looked like the top center joined the offensive party that his teammates Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin are in. Zibanejad regressed to a goal and six assists in January. When the writer uses words in a sports article, it's because they're short/small enough to write. That's not good, but what's going wrong with the Rangers' second-most productive player?
For starters, he is not carrying the play 5-on-5. Currently, Mika Zibanejad is tied for 118th for Even Strength points with 17 players, including Nick Bjugstad, Mathieu Joseph, Vlad Namestnikov, and Dylan Strome, to name a few. None of these players make the $8.75m AAV Mika Zibanejad does. His 7 Even-Strength Goals tie him for 166th with teammate K'Andre Miller and Winnipeg bottom-6 forward Mason Appleton. On the Rangers, Mika is 6th in Even-Strength goals behind 4th liner Jimmy Vesey and rookie Will Cuylle. Once again, Zibanejad makes 8 times their salary. Why hammer that number home? That's because he's paid not to be below a rookie and a fourth-line winger in any stat! That's why you pay stars their money. Among centers around the NHL, Zibanejad is tied for 76th in even-strength goals behind Rangers' castaway Morgan Barron. Once again, Zibanejad should never be mentioned in the same breath as Morgan Barron..
The frustrating thing is when Zibanejad gets hot, the Blueshirts can ride the tidal wave of his production. In December, Mika Zibanejad was tied for 4th in the NHL scoring for the month. However, Zibanejad's production was Power Play heavy. His 21 points tied with Auston Matthews, but his 9 Even-Strength points tied him for 45th in the NHL that month with Zack Hyman and Marcus Johansson. He still needs to be better. While it's true that most top players feast on Power Play points, out of the top 40 in NHL scoring, only two players have fewer than 51% of their scoring from Even Strength. Those two players are Cale Makar (27pts) and Mika Zibanejad (21pts).
Can the Rangers get more out of their star center? Of course, he's done it before, but the Rangers cannot ultimately be successful without Zibanejad producing at a high level. When Zibanejad registers a point, the Blueshirts have won 29 games. It's time for Mika Zibanejad to remember who he is and earn his money like the star he's paid to be.
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