The trade which brought Mika Zibanejad to the New York Rangers was one of the sharpest made by any team over the summer. The 23-year-old centre responded to the move immediately, starting 2016-17 at a pace which would have made it the best season of his career.
Unfortunately for player and team alike, that's on hold now. Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault had the unpleasant task of announcing that the pivot would be out six to eight weeks after breaking his leg during Monday night's game against the Florida Panthers.
"Every team's got injuries; we don’t expect to be any different than anybody else," Vigneault said. "This is...like every coach says in these moments, it's an opportunity for somebody else."
He's right that every team deals with injuries, and that line about opportunity rings a little truer for the Rangers than it does for many other teams. Vigneault has been able to run a four-line attack all year, and he will have options as he recalibrates his lines in the wake of the injury.
Even so, there's no disputing that this is a loss of real magnitude.
At even ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Jonathan Willis
Brutal Injury Derails Mika Zibanejad’s Breakthrough Season with New York Rangers
November 21st, 2016 by Jonathan Willis Leave a reply »
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