Ottawa Senators forward Mika Zibanejad is heading back to Sweden. The club announced on Wednesday that the 18-year-old forward, who the club selected with the sixth pick in the 2011, will be returned to Djurgarden of the Swedish Elite League.
"I think at 18 years of age, he was playing in the last little bit to survive and not to not make mistakes rather than be a creative kind of kid that we think he'll turn out to be," general manager Brian Murray said.
"Having talked to management in Djurgarden, they really want him back. He is going to be a legitimate first-line player for them a power play guy. He might not reach that status with our team this year." - TSN.
Zibanejad has a good, offensive-minded coach in Paul Maclean, a 2 time 40 goal NHL scorer. He has a great mentor in Daniel Alfredsson, who might not be around as a teammate next season. He has Swedish peers/friends in David Rundblad and Erik Karlssson. Plus he'd get accustomed to a superior league, longer season, smaller ice and more physical opponents.
But money talks and it came down to this: why burn off one of the comparatively cheap contract years in his entry level deal when it obviously won’t make a difference this season? Why unnecessarily push him a year closer to becoming a UFA and a greater cap concern?
If Ottawa fancied itself a contender, things might be different. If Zibanejad put up a pile of points, things might be different. But neither was in play so I don’t blame Bryan Murray if he opted to put money first in this case. The NHL is a cap world ruled by smart capologists.
Heading back the SEL isn’t the perfect development solution but, based on these specific circumstances, it’s probably the best one on the table.
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