Colin Stephenson: Can Rangers' Mika Zibanejad really not suffer a letdown after playing in the Olympics?
Rangers' Mika Zibanejad of Team Sweden celebrates after scoring a tying goal in the third period in the quarterfinals of the Olympics against the United States on Feb. 18, 2026 in Milan, Italy. Credit: Getty Images/Gregory Shamus
GREENBURGH – After experiencing the high of playing for his native Sweden at the Winter Olympics, Mika Zibanejad insisted that returning to the NHL regular season Thursday, with a game at the Garden against the Philadelphia Flyers, won’t be any kind of letdown for him.
“I guess I understand your question, but no,’’ Zibanejad said Tuesday after returning to Rangers practice. “I think, if anything, (playing in the Olympics) gave me more energy. Like, it gave me a little bit of that boost… playing important games and that magnitude and a game that meant a lot.
“And then obviously we're getting two guys (American gold medalists J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck) that are a lot happier than I am, maybe coming back and bringing more energy like that, too. So I don't think of a letdown.’’
But how could it not be, at least a little? Playing in the Olympics meant the world to Zibanejad, who had been chosen to play in the 2022 games in Beijing, before the NHL pulled its players from the tournament at the last minute. At 32, the Stockholm native admitted he can’t be sure he’ll get another chance, so this was a big deal.
Playing for a last-place Rangers team that has essentially given up on trying to make the playoffs, and has traded its leading scorer, Artemi Panarin, as part of its “retool,’’ in a regular-season game in February against a so-so Flyers team just can’t be the same thing. And even Zibanejad, who scored the late-game equalizing goal that forced Sweden’s quarterfinal matchup with the USA into overtime, had to acknowledge that.
“Yeah, I think it's human nature not to have the same sense of, I guess, feeling it's, ‘How do you compare that?’ ’’ he said. “I'm not a robot, but it's human nature to… understand it's a different emotion. But it doesn't take away from it being fun playing games.’’
The way this Rangers season has gone, it’s incumbent on all the players to keep reminding themselves that, yes, even when you’re not winning, and you’re not going to make the playoffs, playing hockey is still fun. Zibanejad, perhaps more than anyone, seems to have grasped that idea.
After struggling through a down season in 2024-25, he’s bounced back impressively this season. With Panarin gone, he’s the Rangers’ leading scorer, with 52 points (23 goals, 29 assists) in 56 games, and he was Sweden’s top goal scorer, with three, and their second-leading point scorer (six) in the Olympics.
With the Olympics now in the rearview mirror, the remaining 25 games of the Rangers’ season will be the hardest part of the season for Zibanejad and all the Rangers. They’ll get reinforcements to help in the form of goaltender Igor Shesterkin and defenseman Adam Fox, who are set to return from lower-body injuries, but they may be losing other important pieces of their roster, as GM Chris Drury continues to reshape the team and explores trades that would bring back assets for the future in exchange for players who are key parts of the team now.
Panarin is already gone, and speculation is rampant that Trocheck, the team’s second-line center and one of its leaders, is almost certain to be traded as well. If Trocheck goes, then really, almost anyone could be traded.
Not Zibanejad, though. He has a full no-move clause in his contract, and when asked recently by Newsday if he would waive that clause to allow himself to be traded to a team that is heading for the playoffs, he insisted that “my focus is to be here. My focus is to help, and be an essential part of this, and try to turn this around.’’
It’s a noble sentiment, from a standup guy. And if the Rangers are to keep this roster renovation project of theirs short, they’ll need strong pieces around which to build. Zibanejad, who promises he’ll be motivated to play, will be one of the strongest.
Drury, Quinn return from Milan
Drury, who was an assistant to USA GM Bill Guerin, and assistant coach David Quinn, one of coach Mike Sullivan’s assistants on the U.S. team, were back at practice Tuesday. Sullivan, Miller and Trocheck were not. The U.S. team was invited by President Trump to attend his State of the Union address Tuesday in Washington.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
