The Recent York Rangers will look a bit different of their next game, but it surely should not be something that sticks around for a while. Mika Zibanejad was seen at practice for the Rangers, but after some time, he went to the bench while the team continued to work.
It was an interesting move, and after practice, head coach Mike Sullivan shared that Zibanejad would not play because he missed a team meeting, in keeping with Vincent Mercogliano of The Athletic.
“Sullivan acknowledged that ‘there are logistical challenges town presents’ that caused Zibanejad’s lateness, but added, ‘Mika understands the importance of the foundations that all of us expect of each other,’” Mercogliano wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Sullivan noted that Zibanejad felt terrible in regards to the decision.
“He feels terribly,” Sullivan said. “The one thing about Mika is he’s an honest person. He’s a fantastic human being and he takes responsibility for it.
“It’s definitely not something that we would love to occur, but having said that, we consider strongly in the method that now we have in place. I believe it’s necessary for everybody to know what the expectations are, and Mika understands that as a pacesetter of the team. None of us are perfect. Everybody makes mistakes, and we’ll move by this. He’ll be available tomorrow, and he’ll be the player that he’s been for us all yr long.”
Sullivan has never been shy of holding his players accountable.
Zibanejad has played in all 33 games for the Rangers and is third on the team with 25 points. He’s been scoring a degree per game within the last 19 games, and the rationale for the uptick has probably been due to his move back to his natural center position after he began the season at right wing.
At this time limit, it’s uncertain who will take Zibanejad’s spot between Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafrenière, but Jonny Brodzinski will probably be within the lineup.