The New York Rangers have found themselves at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders have two more points than the Blueshirts do with not even a quarter of the talent the Rangers have. The Rangers are 2-8 in their last ten games, and are in a three-game losing streak. Now, changes are beginning to roll in once again, with center Mika Zibanejad being taken off the first line power play in favor of budding star Alexi Lafrenière.
This is a big move for the Rangers, who have been reshuffling their lines for the last few weeks in an attempt to get the team out of their funk. However, it just hasn't been happening, and New York is now in full desperation mode.
Moving Zibanejad was the right decision
Zibanejad hasn't been himself all season, even when the Rangers were near the top of the Metro earlier this year. In 35 games, Zibanejad has put up 21 points. While not bad by any means compared to most of the league, those numbers are nowhere near Zibanejad's standards. Two years ago, he was one goal away from scoring 40 goals. Now, he has six so far this season. But even worse is his putrid plus/minus, which currently sits at -21, by far the worst on the team. The Rangers have been bad defensively all season, and Zibanejad may be one of the worst offenders.
The Rangers power play has struggled too, with the Blueshirts struggling to produce on either power play line. Zibanejad was a player that benefitted immensely from the power play, as that's where he's scored a lot of goals. This season however, his scoring touch seems to have disappeared.
Could this be the end of Zibanejad's Rangers career?
Now that he's been taken off the first power play unit, I think it's a fair question to wonder if Zibanejad could find a new home in the next few seasons. However, his contract makes things pretty difficult, if not impossible. He has a large cap hit of $8.5 million and on top of that, he has a full no-move clause through the remainder of his contract. The contract isn't up until the end of the 2029-2030 season, when Zibanejad will be 36 years old.
If the numbers of the contract, as well as his play and age didn't make it hard enough to move him, the full no-move clause makes it practically impossible. Zibanejad will have to agree to waive it, and he won't do that if the possibility remains that he could be sent to a bad team like Anaheim or Chicago. No contending team would want him, and the Rangers are unable to put him on waivers or cut him. There is no way out of this contract for the Rangers and it is highly likely this contract will bite them until 2030.
Overall, the Rangers miserable season continues with no end in sight. Putting Zibanejad down on the PP2 was the correct choice, but I doubt it will put any fire under a Rangers lineup that has continued to disappoint. All fans can do now is hope for the season to be over as soon as possible.