New York Rangers: Are any players viable for fantasy hockey?

Number one: Mika Zibanejad

The New York Rangers are a team that is in transition. The team does not have much of its long term future ironed out aside from a few high end prospects and two roster players under longterm contract past the 2020-2021 season. In the case of Mika Zibanejad, it is clear that the Ranger’s front office is expecting him to produce as the team’s number one center.

If it weren’t for a pair of devastating injuries in Zibanejad’s first two seasons with the Rangers, the center would have likely hit the 60 point plateau. There is a lot to like about Zibanejad’s game, especially from a fantasy perspective. Anytime that there is the chance to draft a team’s power play trigger man, a fantasy player should be chomping at the bit. When the Ranger’s power play was humming last season, Zibanejad was ripping shots at the goaltender from the left circle. Putting shots on net creates the chance to both score goals and get assists from rebounds and redirects.

If you’re willing to ride with the boom or bust because of the Swede’s injury history, Zibanejad is the type of player that can sneak into a regular starter role. There is a timeline in which the center hits the 70 point clip as the team’s number one center and power play trigger man. If the Rangers were to trade Hayes during the course of the season, Zibanejad’s role would increase even more to avoid placing the burden on a prospect.

I don’t typically like boom or bust players in the fantasy world, but Zibanejad is an enticing proposition. It is just a matter of the center managing to stay healthy over the course of the entire season to be a top end fantasy center.