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Why the New York Rangers Should Make Mika Zibanejad Captain

By John Barone |
NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 04: New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (93) skates with the puck as Los Angeles Kings center Michael Amadio (10) and New York Rangers center Vladislav Namestnikov (90) trail play during the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers NHL game on February 4, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by John Crouch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 04: New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (93) skates with the puck as Los Angeles Kings center Michael Amadio (10) and New York Rangers center Vladislav Namestnikov (90) trail play during the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers NHL game on February 4, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by John Crouch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 12: Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers skates against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on January 12, 2019 the Brooklyn borough of New York City. New York Rangers defeated the New York Islanders 2-1. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 12: Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers skates against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on January 12, 2019 the Brooklyn borough of New York City. New York Rangers defeated the New York Islanders 2-1. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Every team needs a captain to lead their team. It is essential for the locker room environment to have a leader in the room and Mika Zibanejad can be that guy for the Rangers.

The New York Rangers have been without a captain since Ryan McDonagh was traded last February. At the beginning of the season the Rangers announced that they will not be naming a head captain, but rather named five alternative captains. There would be two home captains, two away captains and one captain for both. The Rangers ended up naming Marc Staal as the alternative captain for all games, Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello for home games and Jesper Fast and Chris Kreider for away games.

Since this is going to be the first full season that the Rangers will be without a captain, we can expect them to name a captain as they hopefully start to compete with their young players. Mika Zibanejad has a good chance to be the Rangers next captain for a few reasons.

Leadership

One important quality of a team captain is the ability to contribute night in and night out. This is important for a captain. Zibanejad is having a career season as a point-a-game player and he is contributing defensively as well.

Coach Quinn likes his play and has commented about his leadership and effort. This season more then any other, Zibanejad has shown that he can put in that effort every night.  He is already setting a great example of what is to be expected for his teammates.

Contract

Zibanejad is on a team friendly contract of $5.35 million for the next three seasons. This plays a big factor into why Zibanejad should be the next captain. Since he and Brady Skjei are the only Rangers who are signed for the next three years it limits the number of options for who can be captain. It would make no sense to name a captain who may not be with the team long term.

If Zibanejad was named captain it would allow him to be in that role for the next three seasons. Since keeping your captain around for more than three years is important It will  allow for the Rangers to have three years to work on a contract extension for him. Consistent leadership is important considering the many young players on the Rangers and having a change in captain may hinder them if they don’t have a sort of leadership to look up to.

Age

Since the Rangers are going through a rebuild having a captain who isn’t in his late 20’s to early 30’s is key because he can probably relate better to young players than someone older. Zibanejad is only 25 so he could be the captain for many years.

The only down side of being as young as Zibanejad is that may not have the same amount of experience as a player who is 28 or older.However, though he is only 25 he is in his eighth season in the NHL.

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In conclusion, the New York Rangers are in need of a captain since it brings a sense of leadership to the locker room. If the Rangers were to name Mika Zibanejad captain during the off season it would help set a role model for the other younger players on the team.

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