On Monday, the NY Post reported that Mika Zibanejad’s wife had revealed that Mike Sullivan had gone to Sweden to visit with Zibanejad and that the Zibanejad family had just gotten a new house in NY.
On 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman said that Zibanejad has not been “asked to submit teams or asked to waive” his no-move clause.
He added, “he has control over this, he has the no-move clause, nothing can happen without Zibanejad control and approval, he has not been asked to submit teams or waive. His wife said on Instagram the other day that Mike Sullivan had flown out there to meet with him and that doesn’t happen if that isn’t the initial goal here, that that is what they want to do. Sullivan wouldn’t take all that time, the Rangers wouldn’t send him out there if the goal was to get rid of the player. Ranger fans will tell you that he played on the wing with JT Miller toward the end of last year, there were times that it looked alright. I think they would like to see if they could try to build more chemistry between them. It’s one of the best sayings I believe, ‘it’s easier to solve your problem than trade your problem. That is always preferable and that is what it sounds like the Rangers re going to try here, put him with JT Miller from the start, build up the chemistry, try to make it work and that is what is going on here, helping to try to get Zibanejad back to the player he has shown he can be. But the key is that he has not been asked to waive or submit teams and clearly Mike Sullivan and the Rangers felt it was important to go and meet him face-to-face.”
Adam Rotter: It has always been trending toward Zibanejad returning for next season, both because of his no-move clause but also because, like the Rangers did with Chris Kreider, they would have indicated they were going to try and move him and work with him to try and get it done. Mike Sullivan going to Sweden would also seem to further indicate that Zibanejad doesn’t want to go anywhere else and isn’t going to go anywhere else.
I think it’s the right move for him to stay and for them to give him and JT Miller, with either Will Cuylle or Alexis Lafreniere on the other side, a real run as a line. Zibanejad showed over the last 30 or so games that he can still be an effective player and maybe moving to the wing will free him up from some of the responsibility of playing center. There is no denying that he, among many others, was dreadful for a huge chunk of last season, but he started to find his game and played at a point per game level from February on. If it was easy to move him and not retain any salary then maybe that would be the right move for the Rangers, but with the situation as it is and Zibanejad in control, it’s a better route to see if a new coach, plus an assistant, that he is known to have a good relationship with and who saw him break out as a player, in David Quinn can help Zibanejad return to consistency.