The New York Rangers are drawing a line in the sand and making it clear that nobody gets a free pass for violating a team rule, even a highly-compensated player like forward Mika Zibanejad.
The Rangers have announced that Zibanejad has been designated as a healthy scratch because he missed a mandatory team meeting prior to their matchup on Monday evening against the visiting Anaheim Ducks at Madison Square Garden.
According to head coach Mike Sullivan, Zibanejad was expected to be present despite some of the challenges that commuting in a major metropolitan area like New York City can present.
“Mika and I had a conversation about it,” Sullivan said. “There are logistical challenges this city presents sometimes, but having said that, I think Mika understands the importance of the rules that we all expect of one another. This is something that, I think, from his standpoint, obviously, he feels terribly. The one thing about Mika is he’s an honest person. He’s a great human being. He takes responsibility for it. It’s certainly not something that we would like to happen.”
Sullivan concluded his remarks by saying that the team stands by the standard that they’ve set in place, leaving nobody above the rules.
“But having said that, we believe strongly in the process that we have in place,” he said. “The process that we have I think is important for everyone to understand what the expectations are. Mika understands that as a leader of the team.”
Zibanejad will be eligible to return to the Rangers’ lineup when they face another former New York forward in Filip Chytil, who is now with the Vancouver Canucks following last season’s blockbuster J.T. Miller deal, on Tuesday evening at home.
Mike Sullivan is Putting His Foot Down
The Rangers were among the teams that made notable changes in leadership during the offseason, as general manager Chris Drury dismissed head coach Peter Laviolette and hired Sullivan in his place.
Sullivan, who had just been recently let go by the Pittsburgh Penguins, arrived in New York with a championship pedigree after having led the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017.
The Rangers, who failed to claim a playoff berth last season, are depending on the leadership of Sullivan to help get them back not only into playoff contention, but eventually into title contention.
Sullivan isn’t playing favorites with his new players, regardless of their star power, and the punishment of Zibanejad for missing a team meeting is a clear example.
Mika Zibanejad’s former Rangers teammate Chris Kreider returns to New York
Zibanejad’s absence from his team meeting means that he will not get the opportunity to play against his longtime former teammate Chris Kreider, who was traded during the offseason to the Anaheim Ducks.
Along with former Rangers team captain Jacob Trouba, Kreider makes his return to New York this evening for the first time since the trade was made on June 12.
The Rangers, who are 1-1-2 in their last four games, are scheduled to face-off at Madison Square Garden against the Ducks at 7:00 p.m. ET.
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