Panarin is a trade a playoff/cup contender makes, not a team thats still trying to figure out its identity and find its footing in the Atlantic division.

Misread and thought you said one. Either way, it doesn't change much, as I'm not saying he played well. For comparison, Pastrnak had 3 goals in his last 10, Tkachuk had 1 in his last 10 games, 2 in his last 12 games which means one goal in each of RDs 2 and 3. Now you might say Tkachuk does this and Pastrnak did that but my point is that Zibanejad is an 8M player that gets paid for his offense. If he's not producing, then he's not doing much else, which isn't something you want to see but the reality is that happens to most star forwards who aren't winning it all.

I have no clue why he abandoned the physical game, maybe he was injured I don't know, maybe he was just pulling a Phil Kessel. Maybe the exit interviews can shed some light on the matter.

He’ll be a performer for the next 5 years. I don’t think it would hurt if I’m being honest. There will be a pay decrease in two years.

The ol' Zib Brass 2.O lol