Monday, November 21, 2016

Zibanejad Out With a Broken Leg

The New York Rangers were coming away like bandits in the trade that saw them acquire Mika Zibanejad from the Ottawa Senators for forward Derick Brassard in the off-season, but that may have just hit an abrupt halt with a serious injury to their acquisition.

On Sunday night, the 23-year old Swede was helped off the ice in the game against the Florida Panthers, with an apparent lower-body injury.  After the game, the Rangers were quick with an update, saying that Zibanejad would be out 6-to-8 weeks with a broken fibula.

This will be a huge blow to the Rangers' offense, as he was a perfect fit in their side this season, picking up 5 goals and 15 points in the first 19 games of the regular season.  His counterpart in the trade is only at 7 points in 18 games, so it was a big win for the Rangers.

Not only is this a huge loss for the Rangers, it will be an even bigger loss for Tony, who will now be without Zibanejad for the remainder of the first segment of the season and will be a definite candidate for the Waiver Draft, trying to upgrade his position.  Tony will have a pretty good pick, when it comes time, as he finished Week Six in 23rd, unofficially (the audit hasn't been completed yet), and his team could pick anywhere along the top of the draft next week.

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