2026 Rangers Report Card: Mika Zibanejad

This article is part of an ongoing series of Rangers Report Cards, grading the performance of each member of the 2025-26 New York Rangers. To view more report cards in this series, go here.

To read the Season Preview for Mika Zibanejad, go here. 

Expectations

After Mika Zibanejad’s resurgence in the final third of the 2024-25 season, it seemed an easy mark to guess he’d pick up right where he left off with a full-fledged comeback season. Specifically, I predicted Zibanejad would be glued to J.T. Miller’s wing, as that was one of the more productive lines for the Blueshirts after they reacquired their current captain. With the team ready to rock with their new head coach, back in the fall, it felt the sky was the limit for the Rangers’ cerebral center.

While there might have ben some stumbling in the beginning part of the year as the team acclimates to the new system. But once he would get going, there will be no stopping Zibanejad. And, like it or not, J.T. Miller will insist on pushing him along. I penciled in Zibanejad for 41 goals and 89 points.

Performance

81 GP| 34 G | 44 A | 78 PTS | -20 | 215 SOG | 14 PIM

What can I say, I’m an optimist. Taking a step back, however, I wasn’t that wrong, was I?

Zibanejad’s year started off strong, and he pretty much maintained that level of play for the entirety of the season. He led the Rangers in almost every offensive category. He had the most goals, tied with Adam Fox for the most assists, had the most points, the most power play goals, tied with Adam Fox once again for power play assists, tied with Vincent Trocheck for the most shorthanded goals. The accolades go on.

Zibanejad was a beast all over the ice. After he was hired, Sullivan publicly commented multiple times throughout the offseason on how skilled and complete a player he thought Zibanejad was, and he was focused on coaching him in a way that would bring out the best in the Swedish center. Well, Sullivan succeeded. After an abysmal year for Zibanejad in 2024-25 that generated real concern that the Rangers were stuck with a contract that was going to age terribly, he had a full comeback year.

While the team was just as bad, if not worse, than the prior season, Zibanejad wasn’t. His average ice time increased by more than two minutes per game, and he was much more engaged across the ice. His forechecking was effective, and he bought into Sullivan’s physical brand of hockey by recording 105 hits, more than double the amount from the prior season. Zibanejad also wasn’t just shooting the puck more. He was taking far more effective shots, placing 215 shots on net vs. 183 from the past year. The more revealing statistic, however, is his improved shooting percentage, from 10.9 percent to 15.8 percent. It’s clear he was playing with confidence again.

I projected Zibanejad spending most of his season with J.T. Miller super-glued to hom on his line, and even went on to say perhaps it’d be Miller who helped drive Zibanejad back into relevance. I couldn’t have been more wrong. He spent most of his year playing with different variations of a line with Alexis Lafrenière—first with Artemi Panarin and then with Gabe Perreault. That’s not to say he didn’t play with Miller at all. He did, especially on the man advantage. The point is, Zibanejad didn’t need to rely on anyone else to drive play. He was doing that himself once again.

Playing heavy minutes in all situations, he recorded a 53 CF%, a testament to his positive play. If we scale it back to just even strength, he still managed a positive 50.3 CF%, one of only a few players with a positive even strength Corsi on the entire team.

Grades

Author's Grade: A-

Banter Consensus: A

Final Evaluation

Zibanejad showed up all year, even when he had a reason not to. The team was burning down all around him, but he still skated hard every night, giving us some of our best memories of the season.

In a dreadful year, there were still highlights that will live on forever. Who can forget the Winter Classic against the Florida Panthers? Despite all the buildup the NHL put into it, the game turned out to be a lopsided affair, and Zibanejad was a big reason why. He scored three goals and tallied two assists to take down the defending Stanley Cup champions and help the Rangers skate to an easy 5-1 victory. This was the first hat trick in an outdoor NHL game, and that feat earned Zibanejad the newly minted "Cocoa Cup" as the event's MVP.

Zibanejad was also honored for playing his 1,000th NHL game this season. While the Rangers, in their typical fashion, went out and played an abhorrent excuse for a hockey game right after a heartwarming ceremony, it was still a nice event that honored the talented Swede, who got to experience that ceremony before a game between the only two NHL teams he's ever played for.

This year, the Rangers underwhelmed, but Zibanejad did not. Expectations for the team next season will be much higher. It remains true that if the Rangers have any hope of becoming a Stanley Cup contender, Zibanejad needs to maintain this level of play.

He's publicly said numerous times that he wants to be here and help the Rangers build their future. The organization has little choice but to abide by that, but it will certainly help everyone involved feel good about the situation if he continues to produce as the number one center they need him to be.