Rangers ‘can’t win Stanley Cup with Mika Zibanejad as a 1C’: NHL insider
Even though Mika Zibanejad is on a season-best six-game point streak, there are serious concerns about his decline in play the past two seasons with the New York Rangers. Furthermore, one NHL insider questions whether the Rangers could ever win the Stanley Cup with Zibanejad playing a significant role on the team.
In a way, it’s almost surreal to take in just how far and how quickly Zibanejad’s value has fallen. It was just two seasons ago he scored 39 goals and totaled an NHL career-high 91 points. At that point, at age 29, he was considered one of the top two-way centers in the League.
Now it almost feels like the Rangers are stuck with a diminishing player, who underachieved in 2023-24 with 72 points and then disappeared as the Stanley Cup Playoffs moved along, especially against the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final, a six-game Rangers loss.
Zibanejad cratered this season. He’s fourth on the Rangers in scoring, but has just 27 points in 42 games. Somehow six Rangers have more goals than his eight (only two on the power play) and he carries a minus-21 plus/minus like an albatross.
“I would try to move Mika. I would,” the Fourth Period’s Dennis Bernstein told Forever Blueshirts on the Rink Rap podcast. “To win in this league, you need legit players down the middle. And we’re talking about a championship team here, one I picked to win the Stanley Cup. Mika Zibanejad is not a 1C on a championship team. He’s not. He had some great seasons. When he was going, he was going great, a dominant player. But I watched him the last two seasons, they can’t win a Stanley Cup with him as a 1C.”
That’s a direct and sharp criticism. It’s also a splash of cold water in the face of the Rangers, who have Zibanejad signed at an $8.5 million salary cap hit through the 2029-30 season. Toss in a full no-move clause through 2028-29 and it would appear that the Rangers and Zibanejad will be wed for quite a while.
That is unless Zibanejad agrees a change of scenery could do him good. Or if the Rangers make it so uncomfortable for him in New York that he waives his no-move clause.
“I would do my due diligence if I’m [Rangers general manager Chris Drury] and have a conversation if you haven’t already and find out where [Zibanejad is] willing to go, then press other teams and see if they can broker a deal to do that,” Bernstein explained. “Now, it might not make the team as good. But I just don’t see it anymore.”
There’ve been rumors that the Vancouver Canucks turned down a Rangers offer of Zibanejad for center J.T. Miller. Recently, respected NHL insider Renaud Lavoie floated the idea of a Rangers swap with the Colorado Avalanche for pending unrestricted free agent Mikko Rantanen, that would include Zibanejad.
Rumors, of course, are just that. Rumors. But it would be easy to understand if the Rangers felt it best to part ways with Zibanejad, if possible.
“His body language has been awful this season. He looks terrible, miserable at times,” one NHL source shared with Forever Blueshirts.
Related: Rangers trade rumors — Canucks ‘adore’ Braden Schneider
NHL insider does not ‘advocate [Rangers] trading Chris Kreider’

Though Bernstein sees a benefit in moving on from Zibanejad, he has the exact opposite take on Chris Kreider. The 33-year-old forward was infamously included on Drury’s trade memo to other NHL GMs earlier this season and has struggled so far this season as well.
“I would not advocate trading Chris Kreider,” Bernstein stated flatly.
Kreider has scored 13 goals, third on the Rangers, but has just 15 points, ninth on the team. He hasn’t been a difference maker since early in the season, perhaps in part because of a back injury he’s spoken about openly. Kreider missed games in December, was a healthy scratch Dec. 23 in a 5-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils and is currently on IR with an upper-body injury.
There’s a good chance Kreider returns Tuesday when the Rangers visit the Colorado Avalanche, after he missed four games.
No matter the health situation, Bernstein is bullish on Kreider.
“Maybe Kreider’s not a 40-goal scorer, but if he’s a 30-goal scorer at $6.5 million a year, where are you going to replace that player?,” he said. “If you trade that player, you’re going to get a similar-type player at that price? No, you’re not. You’re probably going to get back a lesser player and you’re probably going to trade the best player in the trade, which you don’t want to do.”
Trade rumors have dogged the Rangers (20-20-2) all season because they’ve massively underachieved so far. That atrocious 4-15-0 stretch is not that far in the rearview mirror, though a current 4-1-1 run has calmed things down and put the Rangers right back into the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference.
Trading Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks in early December provided much-needed room under the salary cap for Drury to go big-game hunting before the NHL trade deadline March 7.
“I don’t see anything imminent right now. But if I had to trade one player, it would be Zibanejad, not Kreider. I think Kreider means too much to this team,” Bernstein offered. “I just don’t believe in Mika anymore. It’s been too long (a stretch) of mediocre or subpar play.”
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