MIKA’S THE MAN IN BLUE
Signs $26M deal to be Rangers’ No. 1 center
The Rangers and restricted free-agent center Mika Zibanejad agreed on a five-year, $26.75 million contract Tuesday that carries an annual cap hit of $5.35 million.
The two sides had an arbitration hearing scheduled for Tuesday morning, but the Rangers and the Swedish center were able to strike a long-term pact.
Zibanejad, 24, has said he wants to be a No. 1 center, and now with Derek Stepan gone and a long-term deal locked up he will have every opportunity to prove he can be.
“I think even before signing, seeing Derek being traded was a little bit of an alert to me that I might get a chance to play a bigger role, and as a player you always want more responsibility and a bigger role, obviously,” Zibanejad said Tuesday on a conference call. “It’s something I’m working really hard to make sure … I’m taking advantage of the chance I’m getting.”
It behooved the Rangers to strike a long-term deal, which turned out to be market value, for Zibanejad rather than a short-term award being issued through arbitration, because he potentially could have commanded even more money within the next two years if he trends upward.
The Rangers now have approximately $1.2 million to $1.37 million in space to work with for next season, assuming a 13-forward, eightdefenseman roster filled out by either first-round pick Lias Andersson or Boo Nieves up front and either Alexei Bereglazov or Neal Pionk on the back end.
If Jesper Fast needs to begin the season on injured reserve after undergoing offseason labral repair on his left hip and the Rangers start with both Andersson and Nieves, they’d have about $445,000 in space. On June 5, Fast’s recovery time was expected to be five months.
Zibanejad, 24, had 14 goals and 23 assists in 56 games in his first season in New York. He suffered a broken fibula on Nov. 20 and was slow to regain form after missing two months.
He struggled at the start of the playoffs but improved as they went on. The Rangers traded Derick Brassard to the Senators last year for Zibanejad. In five seasons with Ottawa, Zibanejad scored 64 goals and had 87 assists.