Rangers Desperately Need Bounce-Back Season From Mika Zibanejad

A move from center to the right wing alongside J.T. Miller seemed to cure Zibanejad’s woes. The Rangers’ alternate captain rediscovered his scoring touch, he played more energetic on both ends of the rink and his confidence was reborn.

Through the first 55 games of the 2024-25 season, Zibanejad collected 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) and only managed an 8.8 shooting percentage. His numbers leaped significantly over the final stretch.

Zibanejad registered 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in his final 27 games of the regular season. His shooting accuracy nearly doubled to 15.5 percent.

New head coach Mike Sullivan indicated on Wednesday that the initial plan is to keep Miller at center and Zibanejad on his right to open the 2025-26 season.

“Common sense would suggest that maybe we start there and see if that’s in the best interest for the group,” Sullivan told Mollie Walker of The New York Post. “But there’s always going to be that conversation of, ‘Do we put Mika on the wing, or do we put Mika in the middle?’ If we put him in the middle, we arguably have three of the best centers, the one, two, three down the middle with J.T., Mika and (Vincent Trocheck). In my mind, that’s as good as it gets.”

It sounds like a situation that could evolve over the course of the season. Where Zibanejad plays could be dependent on match-ups and how Sam Carrick, Juuso Parssinen and Jonny Brodzinski fill the bottom-six center roles.

However Sullivan chooses to deploy Zibanejad, the Rangers need the 32-year-old to bring the consistency and the confidence worthy of his $8.5 million average annual value contract that runs through the 2029-30 season.

The Blueshirts need to bounce back after a lost 2024-25 campaign that ended without a playoff berth for the first time since 2021. They’re going to need Zibanejad to be a play driver and continue the positive traits that he showcased during last season’s stretch run.

Zibanejad has been given a clean slate. The past doesn’t matter in this new era under Sullivan. It’s about the now. There’s no time for excuses or dips in confidence. Mika simply has to deliver.