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The priority for Chris Drury as Rangers general manager coming out of his first draft, days before the free agent market opens, is clear, if not straightforward.
And it’s not just about sorting out the critical issue of Mika Zibanejad’s contract status as No.93 prepares to enter his March year, but somehow resolving it. Then, and only then, Drury will be able to focus on Jack Eichel, for the only thing we know is this: The Blueshirts can’t accommodate both in this flat-cap environment. There is not enough creative accounting in the world that would allow this.
It can be pointed out that there were preliminary discussions between Drury and Zibanejad’s agent, Monir Kalgoum, who happens to be the center’s brother. Our best information at this point is that Zibanejad is looking for a deal that would at least be commensurate with the one Eichel is operating under in Buffalo. This would entail a commitment of $ 10 million per year.
Money is one thing. But the term is just as important. Zibanejad will be 29 next April. The Rangers are believed to want to keep the contract for five or six years. It is believed that the player is asking for seven or eight years. But why wouldn’t he do it after the Blueshirts signed Chris Kreider to a seven-year contract that started at 29?
It might be different if Zibanejad came out of 2019-20, when he triumphed in the second half of the season to come out on top, no questions asked, as one of the elite players in the world. He didn’t just score, he dominated. He went to the difficult areas. He won battles. He got involved. He thrived against the Islanders and the Caps. He was in the middle of it all and perhaps became the club’s MVP in a year in which Artemi Panarin was a Hart Trophy finalist.
But this is not the case. We know Zibanejad was physically and psychologically impaired for at least the first half of the year after the Swede contracted COVID-19 shortly before training camp opened. But even after the No.93 regained his balance and his game in mid-March, it was not so.
Zibanejad embarked on a streak of goals – he’s one of the league’s real snipers – with 17 in his last 25 games, but he was for the most part a perimeter who seemed reluctant on contact . Was he protecting himself the day after his recovery from the virus? Did the effects persist? I can’t say it, but I know it was different not only from the year before but from 2018-19 as well.
And perhaps more revealing were his divisions, even in the last 25 games in which he recorded 11 goals and 22 points in 12 games against the Flyers, Devils and Sabers while posting six goals and eight points in 13 games against the Islanders, Bruins, Caps. and Penguins (with two goals to come in the closing period of Boston’s final game of the year).
Does that make Zibanejad a bad person? No. Does that make him a bad player? No. But it’s definitely something to consider when evaluating if he’s a $ 70 million player.
Everyone is familiar with the complications of Eichel, so there is no need to expand on them here. But health aside, Eichel’s $ 80 million contract would expire at 30 years, while a hypothetical seven-year contract with Zibanejad would expire at 35. Not all $ 10 million is necessarily created equal.
Of course, Eichel’s cost would be compounded by the assets sacrificed in order to get the still 24-year-old from the Sabers. Hypothetically, it’s $ 10 million more than the value of a package including, say, Vitaly Kravtsov, Zac Jones, Filip Chytil and a first round. It would therefore not be an apple-to-apple equation as calculated by Drury.
The general manager will make this call, but Zibanejad controls the possession of a prohibition of movement clause. If the Rangers do not agree to his terms, the Swede can simply play the season in free agency. What would it look like if the team had Eichel? What about the chemistry in the room? Clumsy.
I have a feeling the Rangers would rather extend Zibanejad than acquire Eichel. But the price must be fair. And if talks with Zibanejad fail, influence in trade negotiations falls to the Sabers, who don’t seem in any rush to finalize the Eichel saga.
Free agency starts on Wednesday, Drury is looking to add more strength and role players to the bottom six mix and he is looking for a physical left-back with size. But these tasks are secondary. Solving the Zibanejad case is the number one priority.
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