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NHL All Star & 900-Game Veteran Reportedly Set to Waive No-Move Clause Ahead of Off-Season Trade
Photo credit: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
The New York Rangers have already parted ways with Chris Kreider, and there is speculation that they could be preparing to move on from Mika Zibanejad.
There has already been an end of an era with the New York Rangers, as they traded Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks.
Kreider was the longest-tenured member of the Rangers and was the subject of multiple trade rumors during what was a difficult final year in New York.
The Rangers had already traded captain Jacob Trouba to the Ducks in early December, while also trading Filip Chytil to the Vancouver Canucks for JT Miller. Additionally, they traded Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey to the Colorado Avalanche.
Is Mika Zibanejad next to be moved by GM Chris Drury? Per Arthur Staple of The Athletic, the Rangers could already have an agreement with Zibanejad to move on.
There's a chance that Drury has already worked it out with Zibanejad, who has five years at a $8.5 million average annual value remaining plus a full no-move clause, that moving on would be best. They'd still need to find a fit -the Leafs might have some interest and some space to fill - but trading Kreider's BFF soon after dealing Kreider would produce the impact on cap flexibility and team culture Drury so badly wants.
Zibanejad holds the cards, though, and he gave no indication before the season ended that he was interested in leaving. Of the headline-making moves Drury could still pull off in the coming weeks, this one helps the Rangers the most, especially since J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck have two of the center spots nailed down. The Rangers would be able to replace Zibanejad via the wing UFA market, which would yield far more bargains than finding a top-six center.
Zibanejad has 5 years left on his current contract with an AAV (average annual value) of $8.5 million, which could make him extremely difficult to move unless the Rangers agree to retain part of his salary.
Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas could show potential interest in Zibanejad to bring another notable forward to play with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Pittsburgh also has just over $23 million of salary cap space to utilize.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 15 | 210 ANSWERS NHL All Star & 900-Game Veteran Reportedly Set to Waive No-Move Clause Ahead of Off-Season Trade Should the Penguins try and acquire Mika Zibanejad from the Rangers? | ||
| Yes | 109 | 51.9 % |
| No | 101 | 48.1 % |
| List of polls | ||