Brassard/ Zibanejad

[Micklebot]

I can see both players getting 65+ points with their new teams. The closer and closer the season gets the more these trades appear to be fits. Who gets more is the question?

What line gets more points total..

miller/Zib/Kreider
smith/Brassard/Ryan

Over the last 5 seasons, only Gaborik(76 pts in 11-12), Nash(69 pts in 14-15), and Richards (66 pts in 11-12) have registered 65+ pts with the rangers.

I have a hard time seeing Zibanejad hitting 65+ pts just because he switched teams.

As for the respective lines, if I had to guess, I'd say the sens trio but I also don't think it will be Smith on the line (at least not for long).

 

[TheRedressor]

Just being honest, and I would say this if he was still a Sen, but I think New York will be left wanting more from Zib. I felt that every season from him and there were minimal improvements from year to year. I question his desire to be a top end player in this league when he has all of the physical tools needed to be one.

From my limited viewings of Brassard, he has great vision and continually works. The two things Zib has always lacked.

If the Rangers can bring out the best in Zib I think it is clear who won the trade. I wouldn't put any bets on that.

funny, Columbus fans said the same thing about Brassard coming to NYR in 2013. We will see if Zib improves.

 

[Chimpradamus]

Senators needed a playmaker, Rangers needed someone who can shoot the puck. I think it's a win/ win situation. So many seasons with muffin after muffin in the chest of the goalie.

Also, Zibanejad is schooled in Swedish hockey, he can probably mesh very well with a guy like Zuccarello.

 

[NyQuil]

Just being honest, and I would say this if he was still a Sen, but I think New York will be left wanting more from Zib. I felt that every season from him and there were minimal improvements from year to year. I question his desire to be a top end player in this league when he has all of the physical tools needed to be one.

From my limited viewings of Brassard, he has great vision and continually works. The two things Zib has always lacked.

If the Rangers can bring out the best in Zib I think it is clear who won the trade. I wouldn't put any bets on that.

There's a much better chance of him getting a wake-up call in New York than he would have in Ottawa.

So far so good with the Rangers.

It also seems like he's finally hitting the net with that huge PP one-timer.

 

[NyQuil]

Senators needed a playmaker, Rangers needed someone who can shoot the puck. I think it's a win/ win situation. So many seasons with muffin after muffin in the chest of the goalie.

Also, Zibanejad is schooled in Swedish hockey, he can probably mesh very well with a guy like Zuccarello.

Agreed with all of this.

 

[Sensinitis]

Oh my, Turris as their #1 C.....

Lol, Turris had 64 points in his last fully healthy season.

Watch him repeat that this year. That would place him as a top 15 center in the league, especially considering his two way game.

 

[Kurt Cobain]

This is definitely a better trade for the Rangers in the long. For the next year or two it's in the Sens favor. Hasn't Zibby always been know for being lazy at times and not much of a two way player? While Brassard always gives it his all and has a two way game. Zibby definitely has the more skill from what I have seen and hasn't peaked whatsoever. As a Devils fan I know Brassard is a warrior and the type of guy you want in the playoffs. Both great players.

 

[East Coast Icestyle]

Lol, Turris had 64 points in his last fully healthy season.

Watch him repeat that this year. That would place him as a top 15 center in the league, especially considering his two way game.

Yeah if anybody is going to hit 65+ it'll probably be Turris. He really seemed like he was gonna get 70-80 last season pre injury.

 

[Gardner McKay]

Sens needed a playmaker and a left handed center. Brassard has looked great so far in the games he has played.

Rangers needed to get younger. Zibby from what i hear has been playing great as well so far.

Both teams got what they want.

Yeah. There was no doubt in my mind that Sens fans would start loving Brassard the second they saw him in action. I know that trade was a tough pill to swallow at first but the guy is an absolute gamer.

The trade really is a win win for both teams.

 

[haveandare]

Its not that Zib isnt a good player ,but what we seen from him is likely what you will see.He isnt some deer in the headlights 18 year old ,Zib has already played pretty close to 300 nhl games.He could progress a little further in a different system or with different players ,but expecting a huge gain in points is probably not going to happen at this point

Maybe not huge but Brass improved considerably in NY and he was no kid. So far Kreider and Z have great chemistry and chemistry can go a long way

 

[danielpalfredsson]

This is definitely a better trade for the Rangers in the long. For the next year or two it's in the Sens favor. Hasn't Zibby always been know for being lazy at times and not much of a two way player? While Brassard always gives it his all and has a two way game. Zibby definitely has the more skill from what I have seen and hasn't peaked whatsoever. As a Devils fan I know Brassard is a warrior and the type of guy you want in the playoffs. Both great players.

That is under the assumption that Ottawa was going to give Zibanejad a long term extension if they kept him. One reason why they might have been motivated to move him might have been his inconsistency both on the ice and when it comes to conditioning off the ice that has been an issue throughout his entire Senators career. If the two sides couldn't agree on a long term deal and were forced to go to arbitration, Ottawa would only get two more years of Zibby anyways. If that was the scenario that Sens management projected, Brassard would not only be a better fit (skilled lefty centre to play with Ryan/fit into Boucher's PP plan) but he'd also be signed for the same amount of years (3) and almost certainly cheaper in real salary than Zibanejad had Zibanejad gone to arbitration.

Zibanejad has tremendous upside, but I don't think he reaches it. I think he'll have an amazing year if he has finally showed up in shape, but the problem is with his previous reputation, once he gets that 5-8 year deal, how motivated will he be to continually put in that kind of work?

Brassard is also from Ottawa which might help the Sens convince him into taking a home town discount when his contract is up.

I agree with those saying that this is a win-win trade, but there are some people thinking NY got the better of this deal who just see that Zibanejad is younger and assume Ottawa has traded away years of a guy who could be 1st line player for a quick fix while ignoring any context around the trade.

 

[Mathieu]

Zibby looks like someone who needs to get motivated all the time for him to play the best he can. For example, when he was sent down to Binghamton a couple years ago, when he came back he played very well for 5-10 games maybe. Or another time I remember when Spezza and Turris went down a couple game, he was given the #1 C spot and played some incredible hockey. He's at his best when you see him going hard on the forecheck and making some good hits. Sadly, everytime I thought he had finally turned a corner he would come back to his regular self after a few games and become that frustrating player who looked happy to just be where he was and didn't have the desire to become a better player than he arleady was. We'll see though, maybe in New York he will be different.

On the other hand, I've been pretty happy with Brassard play so far, even though it's two meaningless pre season games. He's got pretty good vision and make some very nice passes.

 

[SpezDispenser]

This'll be a big wakeup call for zbad and I'd imagine he'll Excell, while brassard and ryan looked like they had some instant chemistry. Should be fun to watch.

 

[Club]

Zibby 62pts
Brassard 58pts

just my opinion

 

[Vaclav Varada]

Hockey sense seems to be a big difference between the two.

Brassard can slow the game down if he wants too but he's also a great play maker at full speed.

Zibanejad needs time and space most of the time. He got better last season at making fast decisions, but still has a ways to go.

Im not sure Zibby will ever think the game as fast as he moves. If he can, he's probably an all-star. He will always be a good player, but he has potential to be a great player.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

I keep having to double take every time I see Zibanejad. Tall rangy Rangers forward #93 with half jersey tuck . . . Petr Nedved
They even skate, shoot, and handle the puck similarly.

Thank God Zibanejad shoots right so I can tell them apart.

 

[Machinehead]

I keep having to double take every time I see Zibanejad. Tall rangy Rangers forward #93 with half jersey tuck . . . Petr Nedved
They even skate, shoot, and handle the puck similarly.

Thank God Zibanejad shoots right so I can tell them apart.

Nedved gets flak from Rangers fans I feel in large part because of the trades he was involved in. He was initially acquired for Tikkanen, a huge fan favorite. Then he was an innocent bystander the awful, awful, terrible, horrendous Zubov deal. Then he was acquired for Kovalev who goes by the moniker of "Best Rangers Forward Drafted Since..." That's an awful lot of ugly association.

That said, Nedved had some years with the Rangers I'd gladly take right now, so I kind of hope you're right.

 

[egelband]

I question his desire to be a top end player in this league when he has all of the physical tools needed to be one.

This was the rap on Brassard when the Rangers acquired him. Not that it has any bearing on Z, but I hope he can become more consistent.

 

[Sting]

This was the rap on Brassard when the Rangers acquired him. Not that it has any bearing on Z, but I hope he can become more consistent.

Fair enough - I suppose that could be said about a lot of players in this league at the end of the day.

I will say Brassard seems to have found some chemistry with a few Sens players thus far. 3 point night last night for him.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Nedved gets flak from Rangers fans I feel in large part because of the trades he was involved in. He was initially acquired for Tikkanen, a huge fan favorite. Then he was an innocent bystander the awful, awful, terrible, horrendous Zubov deal. Then he was acquired for Kovalev who goes by the moniker of "Best Rangers Forward Drafted Since..." That's an awful lot of ugly association.

That said, Nedved had some years with the Rangers I'd gladly take right now, so I kind of hope you're right.

He was a pretty underrated player in general. But optically, Zibanejad looks almost identical to him on the ice.

 

[Samsquanch]

A recent TSN panel of analysts (including Bob Mckenzie himself) voted on the trade, and 4 out of 4 of them said that the Sens made the right deal. So there is that.

I think that anyone who is able to look beyond the age difference can see that the Sens made the right move. Age aside, Brassard is currently the better player for sure, despite what anyone in here may say otherwise.

Brassard already fits like a glove with Ryan and on the powerplay, so its already mission accomplished for the Sens. Zibanejad did not work well at all in those areas, so the trade makes total sense for both teams.

 

[NyQuil]

Brassard already fits like a glove with Ryan and on the powerplay, so its already mission accomplished for the Sens.

Seeing as the season hasn't started yet, I'd hold off on the celebrations.

He's looked good in a very small sample of meaningless games.

the trade makes total sense for both teams.

This I agree with.

 

[Samsquanch]

Seeing as the season hasn't started yet, I'd hold off on the celebrations.

He's looked good in a very small sample of meaningless games.



This I agree with.

I wasn't aware that I was celebrating, but ok.

Brassard and Ryan have already shown more chemistry than Spezza and Ryan ever had, and the PP looks much improved from last year.

Sure a lot can happen by the end of the season, but after seeing Brassard play so far, Im 99% sure that whatever problems the Sens may have this year, it wont be because we traded Zibanejad for Brassard...

 

[Leafs87]

If they both become 65+ point players and are equal rangers win because of age difference. However I do see a really good fit for brassard in Ottawa as he showed last night

 

[Tuna99]

If they both become 65+ point players and are equal rangers win because of age difference. However I do see a really good fit for brassard in Ottawa as he showed last night

I say Ottawa won the trade just because Brassard adds to many elements to Ottawa (and any team) that Zibby doesn't have - besides being younger.

Zibby has the big one-timer but Brassard does everything else better on the ice. Zibby's only advantage is that he is younger and bigger - but Brassard plays way more hockey between the face off circles so he's a much tougher player.