“He’s such a threat” – Mika Zibanejad excited to welcome Patrick Kane as Showtime prepares for Rangers debut

Following Patrick Kane’s trade from the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers have been anticipating Showtime in their locker room. This may happen shortly as Kane is expected to make his debut against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday at Madison Square Garden. 

Mika Zibanejad praised Kane and noted that he’s excited to see him play as a Rangers and not as a player on the opposite side of the bench. By adding Kane to the lineup, the Rangers coach, GM, and the players believe they have put in all the missing puzzle pieces. Only the Stanley Cup playoff run remains.

Forward Tyler Motte said, “I think everyone in this room believes that it is possible and that we are capable of it,” when asked if he believes winning the Stanley Cup win is not just a pipe dream. The Eastern Conference has made huge trade splashes with 48 hours remaining till the trade deadline.

Related: “Showtime era ends in Chicago” – Patrick Kane leaves heartfelt message for his Chicago family following blockbuster trade to Rangers

Artemi Panarin sends out welcome message for his buddy Patrick Kane

 Following their 3-2 OT win against Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center, the locker room of the Rangers was thriving with talks on the Patrick Kane trade. They all are excited to welcome their newest joinee who is well-known for his offensive power plays. 

Although, the one player who seemed to be the most excited was Artemi Panarin. Panarin and Kane have been friends for a  while and have also played together for a few years. During Panarin’s first two NHL years, the duo has found chemistry on-line, and as Rangers is expected to play on the same line along with Vincent Trocheck.

Center Mika Zibanejad talked about Kane, “Everything”. “I mean, obviously the way he plays with the puck. He can score. He can pass. He’s just so calm. I don’t know how you get the puck off of him. He’s such a threat. … I’m just excited to see him up close and have him on our team to see what he’s going to do.”

Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said, “It definitely feels different”.  “It just makes our team a lot deeper, there’s no doubt”. “A lot of skill and a lot of talent, but you’ve got to do it on the ice. It’s a real good team on paper and we’ve got to make sure we’re ready to play hard and compete hard and do it on the ice.”

Rangers young forward Filip Chytil said that it’s a different feel to watch great players on the ice and to play with them in reality, it doesn’t feel real. “When you’re a forward scoring goals as a kid growing up, you’re always following the players who can score the clutch goals, score the important goals, winning trophies”. 

“I don’t know how many times in the playoffs he won a game for the Blackhawks. Every time I woke up in the morning for me that was the first thing I was watching. Unbelievable for me when I was a kid that I could watch that. And now he’s part of us. It’s great.”

In case you missed:

“It’s Showtime on Broadway” – Patrick Kane sets off for Rangers as Stars lose on top player prior trade deadline, NHL Twitter reacts

Patrick Kane’s NAGGING hip injury hinders trade with Rangers as Blueshirts choose Vladimir Tarasenko over ‘Showtime’

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