The New York Rangers have had a reasonably good start to the 2024-25 regular season. They boast a positive 2-0-1 record, have scored 15 goals while allowing 7, and are coming off winning the Presidents' Trophy last year as the team with the most points through the regular season.
All of that is not enough in the eyes of former NHL player Sean Avery, who spent six years in New York, as he addressed one Rangers player in particular during the team's win over Detroit on Wednesday.
Avery didn't hold back when he took to social media to criticize star forward Mika Zibanejad during the 4-1 victory against Red Wings.
The former center was particularly critical of Zibanejad's perceived lack of effort early in the game, even though Zibanejad would go on to put an end to the criticism later in the game.
“Alright, let’s watch Mika Zibanejad do nothing for 20 seconds,” Avery said in a clip shared on X.
Avery accused Zibanejad of avoiding the gritty areas of the ice. He said that the Rangers forward "doesn’t want to get his hands dirty," before dropping the ultimate diss.
"I don't know what the (expletive) that was," Avery said. "Okay, Mika. DJing in Ibiza all summer...
"Here we go, bear down, Mika. The season’s started, Mika!”
Avery’s comments came after a few uneventful shifts from Zibanejad. As it can be seen in the clip, the game was barely past the halfway mark of the first period, less than 14 minutes into the full 60, and the Rangers were already leading 1-0.
Zibanejad quickly responded on the ice to Avery's criticism with his best performance of the season to date.
By the end of the game, he scored a goal and provided two assists, making a significant impact in the Rangers' 4-1 win over Detroit and racking up his first 3 points of the season.
“I think we are close to clicking, but we are working on it,” Zibanejad said post-game. "We want this to work as much as anybody else.
"It’s frustrating when we don’t connect, but obviously we’ll keep working on it."
Zibanejad was referencing the Rangers' brand-new second forward line after the franchise signed Reilly Smith to play on the right wing next to him and Kreider.
