Player Discussion Mika Zibanejad

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Buch calling Mika "C" hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Silly Buch made a typo. Forgot to put a “2” in front there

 

[Machinehead]

You captain yet?

Talk to me when you captain.

 

[LokiDog]

Interestingly enough, these are the only two DJs in the world who I know by name:

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Interestingly enough, these are the only two DJs in the world who I know by name:

You know Kravtsov as well, right? He's also a DJ

 

[LokiDog]

You know Kravtsov as well, right? He's also a DJ

Mika’s on Apple Music. Still waiting for DJ Kravstov to breakout.

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

Dumpster fire candle.

 

[LokiDog]

It’s been a while since my last sporadic Mika appreciation post so:

This past season we all know Mika was a monster.

He bettered his previous career high 74 points in 82 games by posting 75 in 57. He was on pace for 108 points and a whopping 58 goals, and red hot when the season was halted. While I won’t start expecting Mika to be a 50 goal, 100 point player, I think we all agree he’s taken the next step and is likely to be a ~90 point guy going forward, which is plenty to be excited about.

Mika was also 6th in SH time on ice per game amongst all centers in the NHL. For comparison Bergeron was 61st among centers and the closest center who out scored Zibanejad was Eichel, at 162nd. No center with point totals close to Mika is even in the top 30 in SH TOI per game. The five centers who averaged more SH TOI per game than Mika:

Jay Beagle
Luke Glendening
Travis Zajac
Anthony Cirelli
Blake Coleman

Combined points: 118
Combined goals: 51

Mika Zibanejad: 41 goals 75 points, and he missed 13 games.​

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

It’s been a while since my last sporadic Mika appreciation post so:

This past season we all know Mika was a monster.

He bettered his previous career high 74 points in 82 games by posting 75 in 57. He was on pace for 108 points and a whopping 58 goals, and red hot when the season was halted. While I won’t start expecting Mika to be a 50 goal, 100 point player, I think we all agree he’s taken the next step and is likely to be a ~90 point guy going forward, which is plenty to be excited about.

Mika was also 6th in SH time on ice per game amongst all centers in the NHL. For comparison Bergeron was 61st among centers and the closest center who out scored Zibanejad was Eichel, at 162nd. No center with point totals close to Mika is even in the top 30 in SH TOI per game. The five centers who averaged more SH TOI per game than Mika:

Jay Beagle
Luke Glendening
Travis Zajac
Anthony Cirelli
Blake Coleman

Combined points: 118
Combined goals: 51

Mika Zibanejad: 41 goals 75 points, and he missed 13 games.​

Yes it would be nice if we had a nice veteran C to take those PK minutes from Zib.

 

[LokiDog]

Yes it would be nice if we had a nice veteran C to take those PK minutes from Zib.

Absolutely, but I also believe that while Mika is finally getting his due as a 1C around here, it’s due to his production alone this year and people are generally woefully unaware of how good of an all around player he is or how incredible it is that he produced the way he did while getting such heavy PK minutes as well. Those are minutes that wear you down.

For example:

Mika averaged 21:37 per game broken down as such:

15:20 EV
3:40 PP
2:37 SH


MacKinnon:

17:02 EV
4:07 PP
0:04 SH

Draisaitl:

17:54 EV
3:51 PP
0:52 SH

McDavid:

17:52 EV
3:53 PP
0:06 SH

Matthews:

17:44 EV
3:12 PP
0:02 SH

Eichel:

17:57 EV
3:53 PP
0:17 SH

Malkin:

15:48 EV
3:42 PP
0:02 SH

Mika is getting about 19 minutes of EV/PP opportunities to score while the other centers above him are getting 21+ minutes to focus on it and have minimal defensive responsibility (or ability). Only Malkin has similar numbers but he doesn’t PK at all.

 

[Leetch3]

mika being on pace for 50g, 90p while also killing penalties and being strong defensively isn't a negative. it makes him even better...sure you could help pad his offensive stats if he didn't have to do those things, but that doesn't make him or the team better.

 

[LokiDog]

mika being on pace for 50g, 90p while also killing penalties and being strong defensively isn't a negative. it makes him even better...sure you could help pad his offensive stats if he didn't have to do those things, but that doesn't make him or the team better.

It would help to have a reliable defensive center to take SOME of that workload away from him, but I agree with you. My point is to illustrate that he produces as well as all of the elite centers out there while having less offensive situations AND being far superior to them all defensively. He’s underrated.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

mika being on pace for 50g, 90p while also killing penalties and being strong defensively isn't a negative. it makes him even better...sure you could help pad his offensive stats if he didn't have to do those things, but that doesn't make him or the team better.

If I can choose between a 120 point player who only brings offense or a 80 point player who also plays defense, I will pick the latter every time.

I have nothing against Draisaitl, Kucherov etc, but I would pick Barkov or a prime Bergeron/Kopitar ahead of them every time. And this past season, Zibanejad is in that same conversation

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I'd like to get a guy who can take his minutes on the PK because well, he isn't very good on the PK.

 

[LokiDog]

If I can choose between a 120 point player who only brings offense or a 80 point player who also plays defense, I will pick the latter every time.

I have nothing against Draisaitl, Kucherov etc, but I would pick Barkov or a prime Bergeron/Kopitar ahead of them every time. And this past season, Zibanejad is in that same conversation

That’s the point I’m trying to drive. Z is getting some recognition for his goal scoring pace this year but, generally, people still want to call him a fluke and have a hard time including him on a top 20 centers list. I think it’s possible that, underlying numbers, usage, etc. he was the best center in the NHL this season. I know, people will line up for miles to call me crazy.

Regardless, he’s a Selke caliber center who gets no attention for his two way play and we’re not just talking about an 80 point player either; he was on pace for 58 goals and 108 points. Even if he comes back to earth as a 40+ goal, 90 point player, that combined with his defensive play, for me, makes him more valuable than the Kucherov’s and Draisaitl’s of the league.

Obviously I’m not saying anything definitive, but in my opinion, if you asked McDavid to play 2:37 SH per night two things would happen:

His overall totals would go down
His PK would be close to a tire fire

Same opinion holds for Eichel, Matthews, MacKinnon, etc.

In addition to being fantastic defensively and producing like a mad man this year, Mika is also a work horse. Taking those short handed minutes nightly and still having the energy to produce in the clutch shows a different level, IMO. Those SH minutes on a consistent basis wear you down.

 

[ecemleafs]

id rather not have a franchise center getting into shooting lanes on the PK 3-4 minutes every game. being good defensively at even strength and being a good penalty killer are not the same thing. id rather have zibby playing more at even strength and playing a less valuable player who is capable of winning a defensive face off and clearing the defensive zone on the PK.

 

[LokiDog]

id rather not have a franchise center getting into shooting lanes on the PK 3-4 minutes every game. being good defensively at even strength and being a good penalty killer are not the same thing. id rather have zibby playing more at even strength and playing a less valuable player who is capable of winning a defensive face off and clearing the defensive zone on the PK.

I think this is right in line with everyone’s thinking. It’s impressive that Mika took on those minutes and still produced like he did, but it would be advantageous to run Mika on PK2 and have an expendable PK specialist to take the lion’s share of the minutes, leaving Mika freed up for more ES attacking time and more energy.

 

[Hockey Gamer]

I remember back when we were facing the Senators in the 2012 quarter finals, Mike Milbury threw out Zibanejad's name during an intermission as he was covering some of the prospects that both organizations had in their stables. That was the first time I honestly remember hearing his name. They showed some footage of him and I thought this guy looked like a fast skater that was really good at carrying the puck.

Fast forward to when we traded Brassard, I immediately remembered Zibanejad's name when I saw the confirmed trade link. I was actually pretty excited because I remember Milbury raving about the potential Mika had during that playoff broadcast back in 2012. I know at the time this trade was very divisive but I do think there were still a lot of us that saw the reasoning behind it.

While I was excited that we got Zibanejad, who I strongly believed in at the time, I never thought he was a guy that people were looking at as a first line center. I thought the consensus amongst the optimistic fans was that he was going to be our future 2C if everything panned out well. Even if that was the case, I still would've been very happy with the trade. To think that he has now forced himself into the spot of a 1C is super gratifying. I feel really grateful that it turned out this way.

And a few days ago I even asked in our trade speculation if we thought Mika is a better 1C than Sean Monahan. The reason why I was curious to field some feedback on that was because I get the impression that Monahan is a good representative of a mediocre 1C. I think of him as a fair benchmark that separates the decent first line centers and the GOOD first line centers. I know everything has been developing fast with Mika but within the last year and a half, there's been a lot of discussion as to where he stacks up and if he's a "true" 1C. But I feel the same way you guys do, in the sense that Mika is definitely the superior player and has now forced himself into the conversation of being a true 1C.

 

[LokiDog]

I remember back when we were facing the Senators in the 2012 quarter finals, Mike Milbury threw out Zibanejad's name during an intermission as he was covering some of the prospects that both organizations had in their stables. That was the first time I honestly remember hearing his name. They showed some footage of him and I thought this guy looked like a fast skater that was really good at carrying the puck.

Fast forward to when we traded Brassard, I immediately remembered Zibanejad's name when I saw the confirmed trade link. I was actually pretty excited because I remember Milbury raving about the potential Mika had during that playoff broadcast back in 2012. I know at the time this trade was very divisive but I do think there were still a lot of us that saw the reasoning behind it.

While I was excited that we got Zibanejad, who I strongly believed in at the time, I never thought he was a guy that people were looking at as a first line center. I thought the consensus amongst the optimistic fans was that he was going to be our future 2C if everything panned out well. Even if that was the case, I still would've been very happy with the trade. To think that he has now forced himself into the spot of a 1C is super gratifying. I feel really grateful that it turned out this way.

And a few days ago I even asked in our trade speculation if we thought Mika is a better 1C than Sean Monahan. The reason why I was curious to field some feedback on that was because I get the impression that Monahan is a good representative of a mediocre 1C. I think of him as a fair benchmark that separates the decent first line centers and the GOOD first line centers. I know everything has been developing fast with Mika but within the last year and a half, there's been a lot of discussion as to where he stacks up and if he's a "true" 1C. But I feel the same way you guys do, in the sense that Mika is definitely the superior player and has now forced himself into the conversation of being a true 1C.

Mika is an elite 1C... the rest of the league hasn’t caught on yet. Another year and they’ll begrudgingly agree. Two years from now they’ll be some revisionist history going on and the same posters who were claiming he wasn’t top 20, was a fluke, etc. will be claiming it was obvious Mika was elite in 2019. Don’t believe me? Bookmark some choice posts. We acquired Mika at the perfect moment and for some reason - personal maturation, combined with a change of scenery, etc. - Zibanejad grew into his absolute full potential in NY. This will go down as one of the best acquisitions in the team’s history.

 

[True Blue]

Yes it would be nice if we had a nice veteran C to take those PK minutes from Zib.

Eh. ZBad is an elite, two way center. I would say that it would be nice to have a solid, defensive minded 3rd line center to take some of load off, but not completely take it away. He is good at what he does. And that is what helps this team overall.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

Eh. ZBad is an elite, two way center. I would say that it would be nice to have a solid, defensive minded 3rd line center to take some of load off, but not completely take it away. He is good at what he does. And that is what helps this team overall.

Where's Steve Rucchin when you need him?

 

[True Blue]

Where's Steve Rucchin when you need him?

Or Skrudland

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Mika is an elite 1C... the rest of the league hasn’t caught on yet. Another year and they’ll begrudgingly agree. Two years from now they’ll be some revisionist history going on and the same posters who were claiming he wasn’t top 20, was a fluke, etc. will be claiming it was obvious Mika was elite in 2019. Don’t believe me? Bookmark some choice posts. We acquired Mika at the perfect moment and for some reason - personal maturation, combined with a change of scenery, etc. - Zibanejad grew into his absolute full potential in NY. This will go down as one of the best acquisitions in the team’s history.

Yup, the doubters just look at the points but don't see how he absolutely dominated games this season, how he can score so may different ways, and how he's all over the ice and how he uses his large frame. He's a complete player.

 

[aufheben]

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

1,2 and 4 are great.

I'd rather he not kill penalties tbh. It's all circumstantial at this point as we don't have great PK'ers, but he isn't really strong there either.

 

[Leetch3]

1,2 and 4 are great.

I'd rather he not kill penalties tbh. It's all circumstantial at this point as we don't have great PK'ers, but he isn't really strong there either.

I really don't see a problem with it since it clearly didn't impact his offense and despite having no 4th line, he still only played 21:38 per game so its not leading to overuse....totally agree that hopefully as the bottom 6 improves he won't have to do it as much. but mika isn't elite cause he scored alot, he is elite cause he can play in all situations so I love what he is doing on the defensive side of the puck