Don't Mess With The Metro

Let me spoil 2 things for you right off the bat. Mika Zibanejad will resign with the New York Rangers this summer and Mika Zibanejad will play 1C minutes for the Rangers this season. After being acquired from Ottawa in a swap for Derick Brassard with picks going both ways, Zibanejad had gotten off to a great start scoring 15 points in the first 19 games. However unfortunately on November 20th in overtime vs Florida, Mika broke his fibula and would miss approximately 2 months (25 games) recovering from the injury. Mika struggled to regain his form upon returning putting up 2 points in 5 games and 10 points in 18. Zibanejad’s best play post injury came vs Ottawa in the 2nd round of the playoffs where he took over games and played to where the level the Rangers envision of their future 1C.

Zibanejad at his best can dominate games, kill penalties, and has an elite shot on the powerplay. His full potential is a speedy, dominate 2 way center, the Rangers hope will put up around 70 points. However the one knock the Rangers 24 year old Center has been associated with is a lack of consistency and being a truly streaky scorer. Zibanejad “showed flashes of brilliance during an injury-hit debut season with the Rangers. There was plenty of evidence of his high-ceiling potential, but it was very much a learning season for the 24-year-old center.” summed up best by Sean Hartnell (CBS Sports). However on breakup day Rangers coach Alain Vigneault described his playoff top scorer as being, “at a crossroads” and saying that the 24 year-old needs to “figure it out if he’s going to be a high-end center in the NHL.”, harsher comments than most expected after Zibanejad had seemed to find his game vs the Senators in round 2.

After adding David Desharnais this morning on a 1 Year 1 Million deal the Rangers are currently left with 7 Million in cap room (which should become 10 when Kevin Klein retires) needing to resign Zibanejad and Jesper Fast while adding another forward (preferably a center) to the roster. With Fast figuring to sign a contract around a 1.5m AAV and the center for no more than 1.5m that should leave New York with anywhere from 4-7 million to sign Zibanejad to what they are hoping will be a 4-6 year contract.

For easier comps first Zibanejad's numbers need to be converted to 82 games. Zibanejad had 37 points in 56 games which figures to be around .66 points per game or 55 in a 82 game season. HIs 14 goals in 56 games works out to 20 in an 82 game season. More advanced Mika’s points per 60 was 2.32 which is good for 85th in the league.

For Rangers fans I’ll use two contracts given out in the recent past by New York. Derick Brassard was handed a 5 year 25m contract with a modified NTC. Prior to signing Brassard had never had a 20 goal season and his career high was 47 points (playing 74 games). With Mika having slightly better numbers if this deal were discussed it would likely be by Jeff Gorton most likely as an opening offer in arbitration or normal negotiations. The other deal is Derek Stepan’s 6 year 6.5m AAV contract. Derek had slightly better numbers prior to signing than Mika and had reached the 20 goal mark once. Mika’s court could open with this but he will not get it. The best comparable outside of New York is the contract Brayden Schenn signed with Philadelphia last year with an AAV of 5.125m over 4 years. Schenn had similar numbers to Mika hitting 59 points in his signing year at the same age of 24. However the Rangers will most likely want to add a year or two in length to the deal which will drive up the price.

Should cap become an issue or either side become weary of a long term commitment, a short term bridge or “prove it” deal could be agreed upon. With Zibanejad’s inconsistency the Rangers could get cold feet offering 5 years while knowing his potential Mika could worry about being underpaid should he reach his true 1C potential.

DMWTM Staff Predictions

Matt: 5 years 5.4m AAV (27 over 5) Just over Schenn’s deal but adds another year. Throw in a partial NTC and sign the papers

Dan: 6 years 4.7AAV (28.2 over 6) Off the Map but comp here would be Nazem Kadri, Dolan can offer him a spot in his band to even up the salary

Andy: 5 years 5m AAV (25/5) Follow the Brass deal to the dotted line

Ian: 3 year 4m AAV (12/3) “Prove it” deal for Zib

Tyler: 6 Years 5.75m AAV (34.5 /6) Meet in the middle of Brass and Stepan

Emily: 5 years 5.5m AAV (27.5/5) That other NY Team has their star center playing on this deal

Follow Matt on Twitter @Anttiup32