Just as Artemi Panarin is being shown the door by the Rangers, fellow forward Mika Zibanejad finally is playing at a productive level that could make him more attractive for another trade.
Zibanejad suddenly is playing his best hockey of the past two seasons, totaling 11 goals and 21 points in 13 January games, including two hat tricks and a goal in each of the team’s two losses to the Islanders earlier this week. That goal-scoring total nearly matches his output of 12 goals over his first 41 appearances this season.
“I think Mika’s game, I think he’s had a terrific year for us,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said following Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Isles at the Garden. “He’s a complete player; he’s a 200-foot player. He values playing defense and he’s good at it. And I think his offensive instincts are very much on display every night.
“He’s a really good player, and he cares a lot about the Rangers and what’s going on here. I think he’s been one of our most, if not our most, consistent players.”
Panarin, the team’s leading scorer, has sat out the past two games and will not play again before next week’s league shutdown for the Olympics in Milan while team president and general manager Chris Drury tries to work out a trade.
Like Panarin, the 32-year-old Zibanejad also controls a full no-movement clause, which means he must waive it to approve any deal to go elsewhere ahead of the March 6 trade deadline.
The 32-year-old Zibanejad, who is minus-6 despite his offensive numbers for the month entering Saturday’s road game against the Penguins and minus-18 overall for the season, was difficult to trade over the past year because he comes with an average annual value salary cap hit of $8.5 million through the 2029-30 season on the eight-year, $68 million deal he signed in 2022.
But that could change if he continues to play like a difference maker at the offensive end, especially if the Rangers are willing to retain a portion of his salary.
Zibanejad registered a game-high five shots on goal in Thursday’s game, including his team-best 23rd goal of the season.
“I thought we generated enough chances to score a few more, but that wasn’t the case,” said Zibanejad, who will compete for Team Sweden at the Olympics. “As positive as you try to be, or try to look for the positives, it’s hard to be when you lose another game.”
Despite Zibanejad’s recent offensive surge, the Rangers have won just three of their past 16 games (3-11-2) to sport the fewest points this season in the East.
Now they also must deal with the emotional toll of knowing Panarin will be dealt, with more trades certain to follow.
“I just think that’s the human element of sports. Does it weigh on these guys? Of course, they’re human beings,” Sullivan said. “I think they’re doing a great job of compartmentalizing. When we walk through the doors and we’re getting ready to play, we compete hard and play hard for each other, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.
“I thought for the most part the team competed pretty hard [Thursday night]. I thought we generated a fair amount of scoring chances, but the goals are hard to come by right now. I thought Mika’s line, in particular, had a number of grade-A looks. … There’s a fine line between winning and losing, but I thought we played well enough to win.”
