Mika Zibanejad Signs 8 Year Extension
On Sunday, the Rangers announced Mika Zibanejad has agreed to terms on an eight year extension, signing him through the year 2030. Zibanejad gets about a three million dollar raise, with an AAV of $8.5 million through those eight years. Mika has done nothing short of establish himself as the teams number one center since coming over in the Derick Brassard trade in 2016. Among leading the Rangers on and off the ice, he's also lead himself as one of the top center men in the league.
Now the question is. was this the right move for the New York Rangers? The answer is yes. The Rangers have been on the hunt for a number one center for what seems like forever. Since the Messier days, the closest we got was Brad Richards and we all know how that signing played out. Sure, Mika is 28, which means he's most likely on the back half of his prime. However, for what Mika is going to be for the next four years, You have to be willing to gamble and lock him up through the four years following it, even if his contract becomes one the Rangers start to regret. The Rangers have quickly turned the page from rebuild to win now and they have to go all in on the team they have for two reasons. One being the Rangers have the team to do it. This is a group of guys that believe in each other, have faith from management and if they play the way they're supposed to, they can surprise a lot of people when we get closer to seeing the playoff picture.
The second reason being the alternative, or lack there of. Jack Eichel is a pipe dream. The Rangers have the assets to acquire him but Buffalo won't budge and quite frankly, regardless of how good Eichel is, you're still taking a risk on a guy with a major neck injury. On top of that, the plan was and should still be Eichel AND Zibanejad, not one or the other. Aleksander Barkov was also a pipe dream and now that he's signed his extension with Florida, it's clear he's not moving anywhere. Any other possible candidate, your Thomas Hertl's and Bo Horvat's are not major improvements nor are they younger options with higher upsides than Mika Zibanejad. When it all comes down to it, Mika is a guy that wants to be here and the feeling is mutual, both with management and the fans. Yes, it's a hefty price to pay for a guy who's going to be entering his thirties, but until Mika's game gives us a reason to hate this deal, don't hate it. Win now, worry later.
Status of Captaincy
Earlier in camp, new Head Coach Gerard Gallant was on the record for saying "If he was a betting man, he'd bet the Rangers would have a captain by opening night." Well, that was a lie. The Rangers announced at yesterday's practice that Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba, Ryan Strome and Barclay Goodrow will all be alternate captains this season. My guess is that Zibanejad and Kreider will permanently wear the A's and the other four will split wearing them between home and away games. So, why did Gallant go back on his take and is this something to worry about?
Gallant feels as though the team will benefit more from a leadership group versus one guy. All six of these players bring a leadership presence into the dressing room and have all earned the opportunity to wear a letter for the Rangers this season. In Gallant's defense, he is still getting to know his players. Perhaps after being around the team for a couple weeks he sees the presence these guys have on the team and felt it better not to single one of them out with the responsibilities of a captain.
Another theory to consider is the Rangers might see a future captain in Alexis Lafreniere or Adam Fox but aren't ready to put that kind of pressure on them. For Fox especially, already having the pressure of following up a Norris Trophy winning season. At the end of the day, this is clearly a decision the guys in the room are happy with and something the coaching staff feels is in the teams best interest. As frustrating as it may be for fans to not have a captain on the team, there's no reason to really worry about it. If anything, it's a good problem to have when you have six different guys who are capable of being the captain and make it such a difficult decision that they opt to have them all share the responsibility.
The Final Opening Night Roster
On top of the news regarding the captaincy, the Rangers made their final roster cuts yesterday, assigning Greg McKegg, Vitaly Kravtsov and Morgan Barron to the Hartford Wolf Pack. It was pretty expected that Barron would be one of the cuts as he will benefit from the amount of ice time he will see in Hartford. Kravtsov came as bit of a surprise, he was anticipated to be in the top nine at the beginning of camp and looked pretty good in his game following injury. What may not have helped his case was how strong of a preseason Sammy Blais, Dryden Hunt and Julien Gauthier ended up having. On top of that, it's obvious the Rangers are looking for more of a "tougher to play against" lineup for opening night against Washington, therefore it was likely Kravtsov would be held out of that game anyway. Like Barron, let him go to Hartford, see top line minutes, and call him up when the time is right.
So with McKegg, Barron and Kravtsov all getting sent down, that leaves Libor Hajek as the final name to make the team. What also went into the Kravtsov decision was the ability to send him down without have to be put on waivers. Libor Hajek, would have to go through waivers and the Rangers don't want to lose him for nothing. You have to think the Rangers are doing everything they can to explore trade options with Hajek but for now, he will act as the eighth defenseman with the team. Perhaps we'll see him get a crack at fourth line left wing, doubtful but who knows. Alas, the Rangers have their captains, they have their team, now it's time to prepare for opening night in Washington.
Chris Feldman
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