In Photos: Mika Zibanejad shares adorable father-daughter moment with daughter Ella in the offseason

New York Rangers alternate captain Mika Zibanejad is enjoying downtime with his family this offseason. On Saturday, Zibanejad’s wife, Irma Helin, shared a couple of heartwarming stories showing a tender father-daughter moment on her Instagram.

In the first picture, Zibanejad was seen leaning in for a tight hug with his daughter Ella, who was sitting beside him at a wooden restaurant table. Ella held a handful of crayons while coloring on printed cartoon sheets. The two shared a sweet forehead-to-forehead embrace.

In the second picture, Mika lovingly kissed Ella on the cheek while wrapping his arms around her.

Mika Zibanejad and Irma Helin have been together since their teenage years, having met in high school. They got engaged in 2020 and married a year later in Sweden. The couple welcomed their daughter Ella on Sept. 1, 2023.

The 2024-25 season was quite taxing for Zibanejad, who played all 82 games, scoring 20 goals and providing 42 assists for 62 points. It marked his eighth straight season with at least 20 goals, though his 62 points were his lowest in a full season since 2017-18.

Mika Zibanejad’s wife pens emotional farewell message for Chris Kreider and family

Last month, Chris Kreider’s time with the New York Rangers ended as he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks after agreeing to waive his no-trade clause.

After the trade news broke, his longtime teammate Mika Zibanejad’s wife Irma shared an emotional message on Instagram.

She reposted a Rangers tribute to Kreider and wrote about how she would show highlights of Kreider and her husband to their daughter one day.

“In the future, I will show Ella highlights of uncle Chris and daddy to teach her about chemistry and true feelings, and tell her to never settle for less.

“The Kreiders… You are home forever. Friends for life. Family for a lifetime,” she added.

Kreider spent 13 seasons with the Rangers. His trade marked the end of one of the longest tenures with the team. In return, the Rangers received prospect Carey Terrance and a 2025 third-round draft pick. The Ducks took on Kreider’s full $6.5 million cap hit.

About the author

Anjum is an NHL reporter at Sportskeeda with over five years of professional experience in the spectator sports industry. Raised in Bahrain, Anjum grew up close to the Formula 1 and GP2 scene, but it was ice-sports that she truly had a chance to play at school.

Anjum prioritizes thorough research, fact-checking and verification of sources when reporting, and has worked for Oil on Whyte, Leafs Herald, the Nation of Blaugrana, Barca International Cules, FromTheBend, Last Word On Sports and NASA.

She got interested in ice hockey after watching the “MVP” trilogy as a second grader and has not gotten over the sport yet. Her favorite player is Alex Ovechkin, whose legendary one-timers live rent free in her heart. The iconic moment when Ovechkin reached 800 career goals with a hat trick in Chicago as the away crowd chanted “Ovi, Ovi” is probably her happiest memory from an ice-rink.

When not enjoying the game, Anjum can be found sailing, star-mapping or collaborating with fellow citizen scientists at NASA.

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Edited by Anjum Rajonno