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Now is the time to decide about Mika Zibanejad

By Steve Paulus

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - MAY 01: Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers skates against the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum on May 01, 2021 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - MAY 01: Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers skates against the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum on May 01, 2021 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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There’s no doubt that the New York Rangers have holes to fill. They need to become a tougher team to play against and that means General Manager Chris Drury will be working to remake the roster into his kind of team.  Other than a decision on a new coach, the most important decision for Drury is what to do with Mika Zibanejad.

Zibanejad is going into the final year of the contract he signed in 2017.  At the bargain rate of $5.35 million average annual value (AAV) a year, he has developed into one of the best centers in the NHL. Despite an absolutely abysmal start to this season due to COVID, he still rebounded to lead the team in goals (24) and was second in points (50).   He did that despite scoring only three points in his first 15 games while he was still recovering from an off season bout with COVID-19.

That means in 41 games he scored 23 goals and totaled 47 points.  That’s a 46 goals, 94 points pace in an 82 game season, similar to what he did the previous season.

Since it appears that Zibanejad is back to his pre-pandemic form, the Rangers have to decide if they want to re-sign him to a long term, big dollar contract or let him play out the season and test the free agent waters in 2022.

Why decide now?

The decision has to be made now as it will determine what other moves the team will be making as it moves forward.  If the Rangers risk losing Zibanejad after next season, they could be facing a 2022-23 season with no Zibanejad or Ryan Strome, both needing new deals.

That means that Drury will have to swing a deal this summer for a number one center if he doesn’t extend Zibanejad. He doesn’t want to go into the summer of 2022 with no top center on the roster. He’ll have absolutely no leverage when it comes to a trade whereas this summer he would be dealing from strength.

If the team is prepared to move on from Zibanejad, they will be looking to find a new number one center and that means a blockbuster deal for a Jack Eichel, Dylan Larkin, Alexander Barkov type of center.

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