Maybe a [[@citekey]] click could be recognized as an external link to Zotero. If you click on the link it opens the reference in Zotero, but also will map all citations linked this way in the graph. Ideally with a toggle to graph or not graph citekeys.
This would eliminate the need to create an essentially empty reference note from the citekey to see graphing and backlinks.
There could also be a section of the right pane for references (like tags) where you could sort by the most cited citekeys and see what link to them.
I’d really like that implementation, if possible.