Mika Zibanejad’s production thus far for the New York Rangers in the postseason leaves much to be desired. However, this does not mean that GM Jeff Gorton should have buyer’s remorse.
When the calendar turns to April and the Stanley Cup playoffs begin, the grass often appears greener on the other side. The players that comprise the difference of a team’s roster from one season to the next are often heavily scrutinized on their postseason performance.
This can come in form of players you wish your team signed in the offseason. For example, the Montréal Canadiens acquired Alex Radulov as an unrestricted free agent.
This can also come in the form of players that are no longer on the team. Derick Brassard, a noted playoff performer for the New York Rangers, endeared himself to the Ottawa faithful when he scored a game-tying goal in their game two against the Boston Bruins.
Meanwhile, Mika Zibanejad has one secondary assist through three games for the Rangers. The power play, an area Zibanejad was supposed to breathe life into, is ice cold. It currently sits at 0-10 for the series.
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With Brassard making the Rangers look like they miss his playoff scoring prowess, should Jeff Gorton regret the trade that he made over the summer?
Playoff Performance
Derick Brassard was often the go-to guy in the playoffs for the Rangers during his tenure. In 59 postseason games, Brassard amassed 44 points. He was near, if not at, the top of the Rangers’ playoff points leaderboard. This season, Brassard has 2 points (1 goal and 1 secondary assist) for the Ottawa Senators.
Zibanejad is only playing in his third playoffs, posting 9 points in 19 postseason games for Senators and the Rangers thus far.
The two have also been generating shots at similar rates. Brassard: 140 shots/61 games = 2.30 shots/gm, Zibanejad: 42 shots/19 games = 2.21 shots/gm.
One major difference between the players is that Brassard’s career shooting percentage in the playoffs is 13.6% vs his career regular season shooting percentage of 10.9%. Zibanejad’s career playoff shooting percentage is a mere 4.8% vs an 11% career regular season shooting percentage. This suggests that, like the often maligned Rick Nash, Zibanejad has been snake-bitten come playoff time.
One final note is that Zibanejad does not nearly have the amount of playoff experience that Brassard does. Especially as a New York Ranger where his three games vs Brassard’s 59 are not nearly adequate enough to fairly compare the two.
New York Rangers
Regular Season Performance
Comparing Zibanejad and Brassard’s regular seasons, especially their last two, paints the two players in quite a different light.
At the conclusion of the 2016-17 regular season, Zibanejad had scored 14 goals and 23 assists, totaling 37 points, through 56 games or 0.66 points/game, shooting at a 11.8% clip.
Brassard on the other hand, also tallied 14 goals along with 25 assists for 39 points, but in 81 games resulting in 0.48 points/game. However, Brassard also shot a career-low 7.2%.
The season preceding the trade, Zibanejad’s stat line was 21G-30A-51P in 81 games (0.63 Pts/Gm) while Brassard had 27G-31A-58P in 80 games (0.73 Pts/Gm).
Interestingly enough, the discrepancy between the two players’ goal totals that season also lay in their shooting percentages.
Ironically, while Zibanejad was lauded for his shot generation while Brassard was panned for his perceived lack thereof, they finished the 2015-16 regular season with near identical rates: 2.272 shots/gm for Zibanejad and 2.275 shots/gm for Brassard. This also mirrors their shot generation throughout the playoffs.
The difference again lay in shooting percentage. In the 2015-16 regular season, Brassard shot a career-high (for a full season) 14.8%. Zibanejad shot just around his career average at 11.4%
In Conclusion
Another significant dimension in the Brassard-Zibanejad trade lies in the two players’ respective ages.
Derick Brassard will be 30 at the beginning of the 2017-18 NHL regular season. That’s an age where many players begin to see their point production drop off. Mika Zibanejad, on the other hand, will only be 24 when the puck drops next season.
Zibanejad has seen his points per game production rise season over season. This is despite the increase in his on-ice responsibility as he transitions into a second-line center.
One player does not a team make and although Zibanejad is not producing yet this postseason, neither are many other players the Rangers rely on for offense. For example, Derek Stepan also has one secondary assist. Additionally Chris Kreider, JT Miller and Kevin Hayes have only posted zeroes on the scoreboard.
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Although this postseason run may be another brief one for Zibanejad, Jeff Gorton should feel confident that he made the right move in acquiring him for Brassard. It is tough to trade any player, especially a playoff performer and fan favorite in Brassard. However, Gorton made the right move in selling high on the center and bringing in a player that has the potential to be top producer for the Rangers for many regular seasons and postseasons to come.