Without question, fans will treat certain players on their favorite teams differently and will almost certainly move the goal posts in arguments to fit their stance. I’m no different as a fan. I have my thoughts and opinions and some will agree and some will disagree but the one thing I always try to do is remain objective. I was one of the few that celebrated the Chris Kreider trade, and it has brought up some interesting questions about how we view our favorite or least favorite players. Notably, it’s how we view Mika Zibanejad versus his BFF.
It’s well known through the Rangers social media outlets that I’m not a diehard Chris Kreider defender. In the wake of his trade to Anaheim, it got me thinking about how fans view players and what lenses they look through when determining their feelings about the player. Do we only remember the negative? Are we blinded by the positives to the point where we can’t see the flaws in someone’s game?
I will be the first one to admit that I was sometimes far too harsh in my critiquing of Kreider. It might have been because I held Kreider to a higher standard as one of the only successful first round picks in limited opportunities for the Rangers. Or it could have been because of the overflowing adoration he received from certain sects of the fanbase that I naturally took the counter. Or it was because I saw the blazing speed, imposing size, and durability of the Boxford, Massachusetts native that I thought he could be the NHL’s next great power forward and the Rangers finally got a game changer.
For those at home wondering, it was because of option C that I became what many might call a Kreider detractor.
But in the wake of the Chris Kreider trade, it got me thinking about why certain parts of this fanbase clings to Kreider like a life raft, but will be so willing to cast out other players like Mika Zibanejad after a down year.
If you’re part of Rangers social media, you’re not immune to it and you’ve seen how fans have been willing to give Mika Zibanejad away for practice pucks. However he’s someone who has done some great things in his time on Broadway and has even outshined some of this fanbases most beloved players.
Since being traded to Broadway in 2016, Mika Zibanejad has played in 649 games and has netted 250 goals–108 on the powerplay–and has averaged .91 points per game in 58 playoff games as a Blueshirt. Conversely, Chris Kreider averaged .62 points per game in the playoffs as a member of the Rangers in 123 career games played.
So why is it that one player was universally loved and people believe he should have his number retired and the other is on the verge of being run out of town? Do fans really give that much latitude to a player because he was a homegrown talent, even though the numbers bear out that he was not the better player?
It has most definitely helped Kreider’s cause that there have been so few homegrown elite level Rangers forwards throughout their near 100 year history as a franchise. When you think of elite homegrown Rangers forwards, the list is Rod Gilbert, Andy Bathgate, and Jean Ratelle. After that there isn’t much left to discuss. Walt Tkaczuk, Steve Vickers, Camille Henry, and Vic Hadfield are all nice players but when they visit the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto they have to pay to enter.
Kreider, while being a very good and sometimes even great Ranger, is far closer to Vic Hadfield than he is Rod Gilbert. Not to take shots at him, but Hadfield was a good Ranger who got his number retired primarily because he was the first Ranger to ever score 50 goals in a season and was a part of the GAG line. When you look at his career numbers they don’t exactly blow you away and it can most certainly be debated if his number should be hanging in the rafters with his linemates.
As of the end of this past season, Mika Zibanejad is already tied with Mark Messier for 8th all-time goals and is also 8th all time in points for the Rangers with 589, 7 more than Kreider. Zibanejad is also tied for 3rd with Mr. Ranger Rod Gilbert in powerplay goals with 108. Only eight behind Chris Kreider and Camille Henry for the most all-time.
Should Zibanejad find himself on Broadway for a few more years, he will find himself at the top of the Rangers record books in less time than it took Kreider. Fans have every right to be disappointed with Zibanejad the last few years but they also need to recognize exactly what he’s meant to this team even if he wasn’t drafted here. For as good as Kreider might have been, Mika Zibanejad has not only been as good but he’s been better and will own a few Rangers records before his time in the NHL is done.
