Bantering Points: 1/31/25

Here are today's news and links:

Rangers News:

Mollie Walker details Mika Zibanejad's struggles in a season where even as many players have experienced down years, none have seen as stark of a drop off as Zibanejad (NY Post)

Walker also examines the first ten games of Arthur Kaliyev time on Broadway since arriving on waivers from Los Angeles earlier this month (NY Post)

Denis Gorman relays word of how in spite of righting the ship on what once appeared to be a lost season, the Blueshirts remain unsatisfied with where they're at in the standings (Newsday)

Remy Mastey reports that Kaliyev could be taking a seat in favor of Jonny Brodzinski on Saturday if Thursday's practice line combinations are an indicator (The Hockey News)

Stan Fischler calls on New York;s high-priced veteran players as the ones who need to step up and spark a playoff push (The Hockey News)

Around the NHL:

The Utah Hockey Club announced that "Outlaws" has been swapped into the final mix of potential team names with "Wasatch" being taken out of consideration (Sportsnet)

The 2025-26 salary cap number is expected to be announced during the course of the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off tournament (TSN)

Auston Matthews, Sidney Crosby, Victor Hedman, and Sasha Barkov were named as team captains for Team USA, Canada, Sweden, and Finland respectively for the tournament (ESPN)

The Seattle Kraken placed veteran goaltender Philipp Grubauer on waivers (NBC Sports)