Mats Zuccarello: Former Rangers teammate Mika Zibanejad 'misses me like I was his boyfriend'

Zuccarello was traded to Dallas on Feb. 23, two days before NHL trade deadline

3/5/2019, 7:46 PM
Feb 2, 2019; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers right wing Mats Zuccarello (36) is congratulated by center Mika Zibanejad (93) after scoring a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports / Andy Marlin
Feb 2, 2019; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers right wing Mats Zuccarello (36) is congratulated by center Mika Zibanejad (93) after scoring a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports / Andy Marlin

Henrik Lundqvist isn't the only Ranger having a tough time handling the trade of Mats Zuccarello.

With the Rangers in Dallas to take on the Stars Tuesday night, Zuccarello revealed that Mika Zibanejad has been in constant contact since the Norwegian was traded to the Stars on Feb. 23.

"Mika, he misses me like I was his boyfriend," Zuccarello said. "He FaceTimes me every day, so that's nice."

This was after Lundqvist got choked up and was unable to answer a question about Zuccarello on Feb. 24, less than 24 hours after the trade.

"He's a good actor," Zuccarello joked about Lundqvist.

Unfortunately for Zuccarello, he suffered a broken arm on Feb. 24 in his first game with the Stars after registering a goal and assist, so he won't be playing against his former teammates Tuesday night. 

The 31-year-old winger, who made his Rangers debut on Dec. 23, 2010, had known for a long time he was probably going to be traded. But it doesn't make it any easier to be away from longtime teammates like Lundqvist, Marc Staal and others.

"Some of those guys have been there since Day 1," Zuccarello said. "You become a little bit of a family, super tight. You spend so much time together, especially with Hank and his family and kids and everything. It's a really tight relationship. Same with Staalsy; sat next to him on the plane for a lot of years and every day making fun of each other and just having a unique relationship. You're gonna miss that for sure, but I think we're gonna still have that forever.

Popular in the Community