NY Rangers Trade Rumors: Mika Zibanejad the Subject of Talks With Western Conf. Team

We know that the names Jacob Trouba and Chris Kreider we thrown out there by New York Rangers GM Chris Drury. But another longtime star is now emerging as a trade candidate.

Marco D'Amico of RG.com quotes what he calls a "trusted NHL source" as telling him that Mika Zibanejad is now on the market, and they've already had some talks with a Western Conference team.

He’s out there for sure. They’re not necessarily trying to get rid of him, but they let guys know he could be available at the right price.
They discussed him, but I’m not sure there’s a match there (with the aforementioned anonymous team). I think it was more the Rangers continuing to gauge his value on the market.

The 31-year-old star center is off to a rough start this season, and the fans have let him know it. After seven consecutive seasons in which he's averaged 30 goals, Zibanejad has found the net just five times in 24 games thus far, and for the first time in six years has a plus/minus rating in the negative, at -14.

If this doesn’t perfectly sum up Mika Zibanejad’s season I don’t know what does! #NYR pic.twitter.com/ntwYGFKD9j
— Kyle Hall (@KHallNY) November 30, 2024

Zibanejad has five years left on his contract with an $8.5 million annual cap hit, and he does have a full no-move clause, so he’d have to agree to any potential deal.

D'Amico's source noted that Drury is looking for a notable scapegoat to really get the attention of his struggling team.

“Usually, it’s the head coach that pays the price - and that could still happen in New York - but right now, it looks like Drury is determined to make an example with the players and with a big name.”

The Rangers are coming off another dreadful performance in a 5-1 loss to the rival New Jersey Devils this past Monday, and have now lost six of their last seven games. They're in 4th place in the Metropolitan Division at 13-10-1.