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Rangers believe Zibanejad’s best is yet to come

Ottawa Senators v Toronto Maple Leafs

TORONTO, ON - MARCH 5: Mika Zibanejad #93 of the Ottawa Senators skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at the Air Canada Centre on March 5,2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Senators defeated the Maple Leafs 3-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

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It’s plausible - yet not guaranteed - that Derick Brassard will be better next season than the player he was traded for, Mika Zibanejad.

Plenty of New York Rangers fans are justified in being excited about the long-term impact of the move, and not merely because of the second-round pick they received in the swap.

Zibanejad is a lot younger than Brassard. Even if Brassard ages well at 29, his Swedish trade counterpart is merely 23. The Rangers, quite reasonably, wonder if Zibanejad’s best days are still ahead of him.

“He’s a younger player that our scouting staff and our management all felt he was on the upswing,” Vigneault said to the Rangers’ website. “The speed is there. The skill is there. The youth is there. We believe he’s not fully developed yet and with the right environment teammate wise, coaching wise, we can get more from [him].”

Brassard provides a decent example of Vigneault & Co. bringing a prospect to the next level, actually.

After maintaining his level of play in his first season with the Rangers (45 points in 81 games with a 15:48 average time on ice), Brassard scored 60 and 58 points during his next two seasons with New York. He peaked at almost 18 minutes per game last season, which is right in line with the reps Zibanejad enjoyed with Ottawa in 2015-16.

Zibanejad believes he hasn’t peaked yet either, which is promising since he scored 21 goals and 51 points last season. It’s not outrageous to pencil him in for Brassard-like production in 2016-17.

DJ Z Bad lined up between Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich to start things off with the Rangers, making for quite the interesting mix of talent, speed and force.

The trade already looks promising for the Rangers, but depending upon how Zibanejad develops, the difference could be especially glaring.

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