Mika Zibanejad expresses his feelings after being demoted by the New York Rangers organization
The New York Rangers and Peter Laviolette have demoted center Mika Zibanejad from the 1st power-play unit. The next time he takes the ice, he'll have to work his way up from the 2nd unit. Mollie Walker asked for his opinion on the topic.
Rather than lashing out at the New York Rangers coaching staff, and Peter Laviolette, you can see Mika Zibanejad has decided to act with humility with his latest statement.
In 35 games played this season, he's only tallied 2 goals on the power-play this season, and even worse has only scored 4 even strength goals.
A decline in production from last season which saw him produce 26 goals and 72 points. Now, Zibanejad is on pace for 49 points, a disappointment for himself, and the Rangers by any measurement.
Now, with the demotion, comes the questions as Mollie Walker asked him how he felt about it.
Instead of feeling sorry for himself, and insulting coaches, he addressed her and the question with humility.
Which is a good sign for Zibanejad, as it's obvious he is working through his own issues, being a shell of the player he was the last 3 seasons.
In the last three seasons, we saw him post 244 points(90 G, 154 A) in 244 games, a point-per-game pace over three years.
What has happened?
It seems there is an existential crisis that is permeating through the Rangers culture, and locker room.
The team fails to produce on a nightly basis, and Head Coach Peter Laviolette cannot figure out why his team stinks.
Can Mika Zibanejad work through whatever he's going through and produce more than 49 points this season?
