Missing a team meeting is not a move met nicely by some coaches and that’s the case for Mike Sullivan. After not attending one of those meetings, the New York Rangers coach decided to take disciplinary actions against a huge name on the roster where JT Miller also plays.
According to Vince Mercogliano of The Athletic, Mika Zibanejad won’t play tonight. Mike Sullivan also opened up about it. “There are logistical challenges the city presents” that caused Zibanejad’s lateness, Sullivan said. He then added, “Mika understands the importance of the rules that we all expect of one another.”
Sullivan said Zibanejad “feels terribly. The one thing about Mika is he’s an honest person. He’s a great human being and he takes responsibility for it.” As long as we know, one game will be enough for Mika to learn not to skip Rangers meetings.
Will this affect the Rangers?
Not counting with Zibanejad is of course a hit to the team. He has played 33 games and scored 25 points so far this season. The Swedish star is the third-best scorer on the Rangers. In fact, he has scored five more points than JT Miller.
In the last five games, Zibanejad has scored five points. He has been great lately even if the team is 2-3 in that span, although three of those games were overtime matches. Two of those were losses.
The excuse of transportation is not that credible
If the Swede was new to the city or country, one could understand the “logistical challenges” the city presents. However, Zibanejad has played for the Rangers since 2016. It’s been a decade where he’s known every single place in New York City.
Besides, no other player on the roster was late, so it’s a tough one to believe. Mike Sullivan did show, however, he won’t take lightly any sign of uncommittment to the team.