So the word has come that wonderkind Mika Zibanejad is being shipped back to Sweden for the rest of the year following his 9-game audition with the Senators. I was going to write up a post saying this is what I thought would be best, but since the decision's been made it's kinda moot.Basically my reasoning went:
- Zibanejad needs more experience with the North American variation of the game;
- in an ideal world, he would be shipped to Bingo in the way that Spezza, Karlsson, and Filatov were to learn the game without the pressure of the big team, with an eye to being called up if his game develops the right way;
- Zibanejad can't be shipped to Bingo because he has a contract with SEL;
- keeping him here burns a year from his entry-level deal, and there's no point of that because A) he's not going to be the difference between playoffs and no playoffs, and B) there won't be any playoffs this year;
- letting him go back to SEL lets him play and develop his game in a familiar environment and retain his confidence;
- he can still come back next fall into camp, and at that point can be sent to Bingo if further development is needed, and saves that first year from his entry level deal, meaning he'll all-around be a better value to the big club.
This won't be popular a popular decision with the "Win Now!" part of the fan base, but all around it gives the Senators the best chance for his talents to grow and get maximum value from him. Remember, this is a 3- to 5- year rebuild process, not a one-season tweak.
