For the most part, the New York Rangers’ fan base was excited when the team traded Derick Brassard for Mika Zibanejad and a second round pick last summer. It was a deal that made the Rangers younger, faster and gave them a player with a bit of a higher ceiling.
Zibanejad came into the fold with some relatively high expectations. At the age of 23 when the season started, Zibanejad was coming off of back-to-back 20+ goal seasons. In 15-16 he even topped the 50 point mark for the first time in his career. As the Rangers built their forward group last off-season, many got even more excited to see what he can do on a deep unit.