Zibanejad visit from Sullivan 1st step in key relationship for Rangers

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Mika Zibanejad and Mike Sullivan lunched together in Stockholm on a summer afternoon, getting to know one another while talking hockey, the future, their goals and more.

Later that evening, Zibanejad, the New York Rangers 32-year-old forward, had Sullivan, his new coach who flew across the Atlantic just to visit with him, over to his house for a barbecue, his best friend firing up the grill for a steak dinner.

"It was nice just to show him around a little bit in the city and then having him at our place it was calmer with no people around," Zibanejad said. "Got the time, especially with him being there literally for the day. It was a good conversation and a good start."

Sullivan's visit to Stockholm to spend a day with Zibanejad not long after he was hired on May 2 was a calculated trip made by the coach with the intention of getting on the same page with one of New York's most important and thoughtful players who is coming off his most disappointing season in seven years.

It set the stage for the start of their first season together.

"It meant a lot," Zibanejad said. "Obviously not knowing him from the past, only playing against him and his team for the past whatever, nine to 10 years, but not knowing him personally, so for him to come all the way to Sweden literally for the day was highly appreciative for me and obviously my family as well. It was a nice gesture and a nice start to the season."

The visit was educational for Sullivan too, because that's when Zibanejad told him he felt he had chemistry with forward J.T. Miller in their short time playing together last season, and he wanted to see if they could build on it at the start of this season.

Zibanejad and Miller played a total of 259:12 together at 5-on-5 in 32 games, an average of 8:06 per game. Miller had 12 points (five goals, seven assists) and Zibanejad had 11 (four goals, seven assists) when they were on the ice together, with the Rangers outscoring opponents 14-12.

The two have been skating together to start training camp.

"We had great conversations over there," Sullivan said. "I wouldn't have learned some of the things that I know now if I didn't go. For example, the relationship and chemistry that he felt he had with J.T. Miller as a takeaway."

Miller is technically the center and Zibanejad the right wing, a change from his more natural position in the middle, but the two switch regularly depending on where they are on the ice in relation to the puck, just as they did last season.

"I don't think we look at it as center and wing," Miller said. "We talked about it this morning at breakfast, we're playing forward right now and that makes our lives easier. (Thursday) in that little scrimmage we must have switched seamlessly at center and wing five or six times, and that was just in that little scrimmage.

"Little things like that, it's just super comfortable. It's very interchangeable. We like that. If we don't have any chemistry, then it takes time to learn, but we think the game pretty similarly and we know the timing."

It's too early to know if they'll stay together because Sullivan knows putting Miller and Zibanejad on the same line thins New York's center depth. But if the chemistry returns, the coach also won't want to mess with it and will instead look to build a conscientious third line.

The key to it all, though, is Zibanejad and how he adjusts to playing more wing than he's accustomed to and how he starts the season coming off last season.

He barely scraped together 20 goals last season, scoring two in the last game of the regular season to get there. He had 62 points (42 assists) in 82 games, thanks to an 11-point run (four goals, seven assists) in the last six games of the season, all after New York was eliminated from playoff contention. He was a minus-22.

It was Zibanejad's worst year production-wise since 2017-18, when he had 47 points (27 goals, 20 assists) in 72 games. His 0.24 goals per game was his lowest since 2013-14, when he scored 16 in 69 games with the Ottawa Senators (0.23 per game).

He said his mindset going into this season, which will be his 15th in the NHL, is "just a reset."

"Put in the time in the summer and I'm going into (the season) calm and just try to think less, honestly," Zibanejad said. "Just go out and play. Just trust the process every day from practice to preseason games to the games and every day in the season. I think that's what I have to have on my side.

"I'm happy. I'm happy to be here. I'm excited for the year. I'm happy we are going."

It will be different, though. Zibanejad doesn't have one of his closest friends in the game on his side anymore; longtime Ranger Chris Kreider was traded to the Anaheim Ducks on June 12 in a move Zibanejad said he could see coming.

"I'm not going to stand here and lie and say it's part of the business," Zibanejad said. "No, obviously it was tough. There's an adjustment time. As a human being I'm not going to push those feelings away. I think I just accept that. It's been my longest linemate, longest teammate I've had in my career. It's one of my best friends. So it's weird not to see him come through these doors."

Instead, it's Sullivan who walked through, quickly making a point of reaching out to Zibanejad, traveling to see him, breaking bread and eating steaks, beginning a relationship that will be as important as any to New York's success this season and beyond.

"I'm probably stating the obvious when I say Mika is a very important player on this team," Sullivan said. "I know how good he can be. … We're going to do everything we can to set him up for success."