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Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

A place to discuss the MN Wild
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Hornets
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Hornets »

D_B_U wrote: Thu Feb 21, 2019 5:25 pm
Hornets wrote: Thu Feb 21, 2019 1:48 pm

Zucker has been a disaster so far this season, but he's the one guy that I fear losing and then he goes on to average 30 goals the next 5 years for someone else.....guy has elite speed and can be a game changer if he puts his mind to it.
He looks to be a guy who is pressing the most. I think it will click but I think the pressure is becoming tough for him.

Honestly the whole team has been a disaster.
You're not wrong...
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Hole Nova Level »

DBU and Hornets.

Give me a bet on Zucker putting up 30 goals again/ever. Something...Here are a few bets I'm willing to make, for starters:

-Carly- Jason Zucker won't score 30 again during his contract
-Carly- Jason Zucker won't score 30 again with the Wild

Any interest in these bets????

"Game Changer"
"I don't think last year was a fluke"

At what point will you WILD "hockey" fans learn?
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Hole Nova Level »

D_B_U wrote: Thu Feb 21, 2019 5:25 pm
Hornets wrote: Thu Feb 21, 2019 1:48 pm

Zucker has been a disaster so far this season, but he's the one guy that I fear losing and then he goes on to average 30 goals the next 5 years for someone else.....guy has elite speed and can be a game changer if he puts his mind to it.
He looks to be a guy who is pressing the most. I think it will click but I think the pressure is becoming tough for him.

Honestly the whole team has been a disaster.
Poor Carly Zucker, the "pressure" is becoming tough for him...Awe....

That's what he got the 5-f-ckin YEAR DEAL FOR!!!!! THE PRESSURE!!!?!??!?!!?!?

The pressure of what?!?!?!! You are paid to score goals, use your speed, shoot the puck etc. You know what the PRESSURE is that he has!?!??!? Cuz he LITERALLY KNOWS the 30 GOAL season he had was an absolute ONE-TIME deal. He set him and Carly up for the future with that season. He played the best hockey he can and will ever play and he literally knows he won't be able to do it again at any time during the contract he signed and he knows he's f-cked. THAT is the pressure he feels. The PRESSURE of being a complete f-cking FRAUD of a goal scorer.

You poor Wild fans bought his jersey, followed Carly on TWITTER and ate up the Zucker family. MN-"hockey" fans, LOL.

Don't every forget ZUCKER's, SUCKERS.
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Hornets »

Hole Nova Level wrote: Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:20 pm DBU and Hornets.

Give me a bet on Zucker putting up 30 goals again/ever. Something...Here are a few bets I'm willing to make, for starters:

-Carly- Jason Zucker won't score 30 again during his contract
-Carly- Jason Zucker won't score 30 again with the Wild

Any interest in these bets????

"Game Changer"
"I don't think last year was a fluke"

At what point will you WILD "hockey" fans learn?
I think he will at some point.....not this year though!
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Hole Nova Level »

Hornets wrote: Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:45 pm
Hole Nova Level wrote: Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:20 pm DBU and Hornets.

Give me a bet on Zucker putting up 30 goals again/ever. Something...Here are a few bets I'm willing to make, for starters:

-Carly- Jason Zucker won't score 30 again during his contract
-Carly- Jason Zucker won't score 30 again with the Wild

Any interest in these bets????

"Game Changer"
"I don't think last year was a fluke"

At what point will you WILD "hockey" fans learn?
I think he will at some point.....not this year though!
So you in??

Be specific. Take one or both of them bets!
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Hornets »

Hole Nova Level wrote: Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:47 pm
Hornets wrote: Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:45 pm
Hole Nova Level wrote: Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:20 pm DBU and Hornets.

Give me a bet on Zucker putting up 30 goals again/ever. Something...Here are a few bets I'm willing to make, for starters:

-Carly- Jason Zucker won't score 30 again during his contract
-Carly- Jason Zucker won't score 30 again with the Wild

Any interest in these bets????

"Game Changer"
"I don't think last year was a fluke"

At what point will you WILD "hockey" fans learn?
I think he will at some point.....not this year though!
So you in??

Be specific. Take one or both of them bets!
I don't have a crystal ball telling me how long Zucker will be in a Wild uni....you'll have to accept my yes, he will score 30 at some point!
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Hole Nova Level »

Hornets wrote: Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:48 pm
Hole Nova Level wrote: Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:47 pm
Hornets wrote: Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:45 pm

I think he will at some point.....not this year though!
So you in??

Be specific. Take one or both of them bets!
I don't have a crystal ball telling me how long Zucker will be in a Wild uni....you'll have to accept my yes, he will score 30 at some point!
Ba-DOW!
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Hornets »

...and right on cue Zucker misses a glorious point blank shot!
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by D_B_U »

Hole Nova Level wrote: Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:25 pm
Poor Carly Zucker, the "pressure" is becoming tough for him...Awe....

That's what he got the 5-f-ckin YEAR DEAL FOR!!!!! THE PRESSURE!!!?!??!?!!?!?

The pressure of what?!?!?!! You are paid to score goals, use your speed, shoot the puck etc. You know what the PRESSURE is that he has!?!??!? Cuz he LITERALLY KNOWS the 30 GOAL season he had was an absolute ONE-TIME deal. He set him and Carly up for the future with that season. He played the best hockey he can and will ever play and he literally knows he won't be able to do it again at any time during the contract he signed and he knows he's f-cked. THAT is the pressure he feels. The PRESSURE of being a complete f-cking FRAUD of a goal scorer.

You poor Wild fans bought his jersey, followed Carly on TWITTER and ate up the Zucker family. MN-"hockey" fans, LOL.

Don't every forget ZUCKER's, SUCKERS.
Take a deep breath. You are getting a bit too worked up.

Zucker is an opportunistic goal scorer. He has tremendous speed that allows him to create angles and openings. If he is the best player on your team, you might be in trouble, but if you can find players who can get him the puck in open space I 100% believe he can score that many goals again.

And yes, he has pressure to live up to his contract. He clearly wants to live up to that money and isnt coming through. Not sure why you dont think that is worthy of feeling pressure.

I get you cant stand Carly or you feel like he somehow tricked the wild into that contract, but I would take a step back before you give yourself an ulcer.

Zucker needs to play much better. But it is a bit early to say last year was a one time deal.
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Jimtown guy »

After the Flames were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the Colorado Avalanche, the talks to bring in Zucker have resurfaced again. On the day of the Flames locker clean out and media availability day, Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman joined Calgary sports radio, Sportnet 960 The Fan and stated that he can easily see the Flames circling back and revisiting this trade to get the deal done.
https://www.nhltraderumors.me/2019/04/f ... trade.html
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by The Replacements »

Jimtown guy wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2019 12:57 pm After the Flames were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the Colorado Avalanche, the talks to bring in Zucker have resurfaced again. On the day of the Flames locker clean out and media availability day, Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman joined Calgary sports radio, Sportnet 960 The Fan and stated that he can easily see the Flames circling back and revisiting this trade to get the deal done.
https://www.nhltraderumors.me/2019/04/f ... trade.html
Do you know any of the rumored details?
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Jimtown guy »

The Replacements wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2019 1:14 pm
Jimtown guy wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2019 12:57 pm After the Flames were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the Colorado Avalanche, the talks to bring in Zucker have resurfaced again. On the day of the Flames locker clean out and media availability day, Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman joined Calgary sports radio, Sportnet 960 The Fan and stated that he can easily see the Flames circling back and revisiting this trade to get the deal done.
https://www.nhltraderumors.me/2019/04/f ... trade.html
Do you know any of the rumored details?
Just what’s in the article
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by The Replacements »

Jimtown guy wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2019 1:21 pm
The Replacements wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2019 1:14 pm
Jimtown guy wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2019 12:57 pm After the Flames were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the Colorado Avalanche, the talks to bring in Zucker have resurfaced again. On the day of the Flames locker clean out and media availability day, Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman joined Calgary sports radio, Sportnet 960 The Fan and stated that he can easily see the Flames circling back and revisiting this trade to get the deal done.
https://www.nhltraderumors.me/2019/04/f ... trade.html
Do you know any of the rumored details?
Just what’s in the article
Doesn't Zucker have more trade value than that offer?
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Ron Burgundy 4 President
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Ron Burgundy 4 President »

The Replacements wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2019 3:28 pm
Jimtown guy wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2019 1:21 pm
The Replacements wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2019 1:14 pm

Do you know any of the rumored details?
Just what’s in the article

Doesn't Zucker have more trade value than that offer?
I would sure think so. Frolik is a washed up role player who has about one more year (at best) in the NHL before he takes his game to the KHL. I wouldn't have even wanted him as a throw in with the first round pick. The pick would have been the 30th pick so we're basically talking about a high second round pick in exchange for a guy who even in a down year is still relatively young, has speed, and will get you no less than 20 goals a season if healthy. I'm not at all opposed to moving him, but not for a high second round pick. That's probably why the deal fell though. Leiopold had sign off on it and he said, "are you fucking serious with this shit?" Especially after I trusted you against my better judgement when you gave Nino away for a sack of dogshit to watch him score a point per game for his new team the rest of the way?"

For the record, this may have been the deal and I heard something similar with a couple variations, but the one that I heard that made the most sense basically had the same pick, but Sam Bennett instead of Frolik going to the Wild. Don't love that deal either, but it would be more acceptable. Bennett is a quasi-first round bust, but he has cut out a nitche for himself as a tough guy which the Wild could use. They could however, also use scoring though and like him or not Zucker is about the 3rd best forward on the team offensively speaking. On a team that gets subpar scoring (at best) from it's forward group Fenton would have to get better offers than those IMO.
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Lenny5160 »

Ron Burgundy 4 President wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2019 10:24 pm
The Replacements wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2019 3:28 pm
Jimtown guy wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2019 1:21 pm

Just what’s in the article

Doesn't Zucker have more trade value than that offer?
The pick would have been the 30th pick so we're basically talking about a high second round pick in exchange for a guy who even in a down year is still relatively young, has speed, and will get you no less than 20 goals a season if healthy.
The 30th pick is for the loser of the Cup final, so that won't be it. A late pick just the same. Currently looking like 26th but not yet final.

Could be the next Brock Boeser taken there!
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by RubeTube »

Another in a long list of Wild Blunders.
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by The Replacements »

Sergeant Rubetube wrote: Wed May 01, 2019 3:41 pm Another in a long list of Wild Blunders.
I wouldn't call it a blunder. Zucker has performed well for a 2nd round pick. Only 44% of 2nd rounders turn into NHL players.
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Ron Burgundy 4 President »

The Replacements wrote: Wed May 01, 2019 4:11 pm
Sergeant Rubetube wrote: Wed May 01, 2019 3:41 pm Another in a long list of Wild Blunders.
I wouldn't call it a blunder. Zucker has performed well for a 2nd round pick. Only 44% of 2nd rounders turn into NHL players.
Correct and how many of them are perennial 20-30 goal scorers? I'd guess 20% or so which is why it would have been dumb to trade a 2nd round pick (basically even if it was at the very tail end of round 1) and a washed up scrub like Frolik who the Wild would havd added as a favor for the Flames for salary cap purposes, not to improve their own team for the long or short term.

As far as it being a blunder, it's really not. If Fenton doesn't like Zucker for whatever reason he can still be traded before July 1st. He under preformed said contract this season, but the totality of his career suggests that the contract is a fair one for both the player and team generally speaking.
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Hole Nova Level »

Trade em' so he can be a nice piece on another team. Not some fake azz "leading" scorer here with Wild.
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by bubu dubu. »

You'd think a player with Zucker's skillset is what Fenton likes in a player, no?

Curious his name is on top of the rumor mill.
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Hole Nova Level »

bubu dubu. wrote: Fri May 17, 2019 1:41 am You'd think a player with Zucker's skillset is what Fenton likes in a player, no?

Curious his name is on top of the rumor mill.
*limited skillset
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Vulcan Vidiot »

I've hear that Zucker isn't liked much in the locker room.

He is looked at as a valuable commodity for his speed and "scoring" but Fenton doesn't see him fitting in the locker room.

He's gone. The Wild are willing to trade him for a guy who doesn't really care, but won't disrupt a locker room.

There was a weird dynamic in the locker room that Fenton is wiping out.
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Hole Nova Level »

Vulcan Vidiot wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 8:46 pm I've hear that Zucker isn't liked much in the locker room.

He is looked at as a valuable commodity for his speed and "scoring" but Fenton doesn't see him fitting in the locker room.

He's gone. The Wild are willing to trade him for a guy who doesn't really care, but won't disrupt a locker room.

There was a weird dynamic in the locker room that Fenton is wiping out.
Yeo told about this. Foligno told us this.

Add in Greenway and Donato not giving two sh-ts and hot-shotting it down with IA. You got some problems.

Wonder if Greenway would hot-shot it and non-chalant his shit if he was on Zdeno Chara's team???? Go into the corner with Chara in practice- with your face mask up to your forehead, chillin with your half-way helmet on...thinking your all cool Greenway. Let's see then if your a hot shot.

You think Suter demands anything??? LOL. Mikko??? LOL. they all just prolly love tap eachother in practices.

Go ask Charlie about them Bruins practices...see how "chill" they are. You got Big-Alpha-Dogs on that team and trust me Charlie is listening REAL quick to everything they say. That's called "LOCKER ROOM" Dynamic.
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Vulcan Vidiot »

Hole Nova Level wrote: Fri May 24, 2019 10:14 am
Vulcan Vidiot wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 8:46 pm I've hear that Zucker isn't liked much in the locker room.

He is looked at as a valuable commodity for his speed and "scoring" but Fenton doesn't see him fitting in the locker room.

He's gone. The Wild are willing to trade him for a guy who doesn't really care, but won't disrupt a locker room.

There was a weird dynamic in the locker room that Fenton is wiping out.
Yeo told about this. Foligno told us this.

Add in Greenway and Donato not giving two sh-ts and hot-shotting it down with IA. You got some problems.

Wonder if Greenway would hot-shot it and non-chalant his shit if he was on Zdeno Chara's team???? Go into the corner with Chara in practice- with your face mask up to your forehead, chillin with your half-way helmet on...thinking your all cool Greenway. Let's see then if your a hot shot.

You think Suter demands anything??? LOL. Mikko??? LOL. they all just prolly love tap eachother in practices.

Go ask Charlie about them Bruins practices...see how "chill" they are. You got Big-Alpha-Dogs on that team and trust me Charlie is listening REAL quick to everything they say. That's called "LOCKER ROOM" Dynamic.
Correct.

Not sure how it got this bad, but this was a locker room filled with prima donnas.
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by D_B_U »

Vulcan Vidiot wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 8:46 pm I've hear that Zucker isn't liked much in the locker room.

He is looked at as a valuable commodity for his speed and "scoring" but Fenton doesn't see him fitting in the locker room.

He's gone. The Wild are willing to trade him for a guy who doesn't really care, but won't disrupt a locker room.

There was a weird dynamic in the locker room that Fenton is wiping out.
No you havent. You have no sources. You are spewing old crap from a couple years ago that the Young guys and old guys didnt get along.

Fenton wants his own guys. Zucker was obviously very tight with Coyle, Nino and Granny.

Zucker isnt a bad locker room guy. He just is not a Fenton guy and has the most trade value.
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Vulcan Vidiot »

D_B_U wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 8:52 am
Vulcan Vidiot wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 8:46 pm I've hear that Zucker isn't liked much in the locker room.

He is looked at as a valuable commodity for his speed and "scoring" but Fenton doesn't see him fitting in the locker room.

He's gone. The Wild are willing to trade him for a guy who doesn't really care, but won't disrupt a locker room.

There was a weird dynamic in the locker room that Fenton is wiping out.
No you havent. You have no sources. You are spewing old crap from a couple years ago that the Young guys and old guys didnt get along.

Fenton wants his own guys. Zucker was obviously very tight with Coyle, Nino and Granny.

Zucker isnt a bad locker room guy. He just is not a Fenton guy and has the most trade value.
I do have a source.

Sorry.

Zucker is an asshole.

Nobody likes him in the team.

The Wilds locker room is a mess.

There are a lot of weird clicks.

Guys like Zucker are creating this atmosphere.
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Hole Nova Level »

Yeo told us about this
Foligno told us about this
Russo is now starting to report on this
Nanne is even (finally) spilling the beans.....

It's been years of this locker room acting like the Desperate Housewives of the MN Wild.
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by full force five »

I'm fine with the Calgary offer: Sam Bennett and Frolik. Frolik only has one year 4.3 left. Bennett is young still with potential. Zucker has a big cap hit for inconsistent production.
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Vulcan Vidiot »

Hole Nova Level wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 10:29 am Yeo told us about this
Foligno told us about this
Russo is now starting to report on this
Nanne is even (finally) spilling the beans.....

It's been years of this locker room acting like the Desperate Housewives of the MN Wild.
Correct.

Zucker is known as a "bitch" across the league. He's not a good "locker room guy."
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Re: Zucker Signs 5 year deal!

Post by Ron Burgundy 4 President »

As I've stated before I have no issue with moving Zucker in the right deal, but all of these proposed offers are either horseshit like the Sam Bennett/Frolik deal (and yes, it would be a bad trade for the Wild) or make no sense for an aging team trying to get younger (like the Kessell/Johnson deal). Not to toot my own horn too much, but this guy echos much of what I've been saying about the direction of team since the day of the epic fail of a Niederrieder trade (which I hated immediately and nailed BTW while many of you were taking a wait and see approach) to Fenton backing himself into a corner trying to move Zucker. The Athletic probably wouldn't appreciate my copy and paste of an entire article here, but I'm gonna do it anyways. I've underlined the most important stuff if you only have the time or energy to just skim it. Enjoy.
How trading Jason Zucker would show the Wild haven’t learned from their mistakes


On Jan. 17, the Minnesota Wild traded forward Nino Niederreiter to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Victor Rask – a move that immediately went south. Going into the offseason, it doesn’t seem like the team has learned anything from the experience.

On his new team, Niederreiter notched 30 points in 36 games while playing on the top line and maintaining a strong two-way game. He had finally fulfilled the potential that he had shown for years, but was never given much of a chance to prove. On the other side, Rask did exactly what he had been previously doing in Carolina: nothing. He earned just three points in 23 games with the Wild while patrolling the team’s fourth line. Disastrous is the best way to describe it.


What that trade didn’t need was any hindsight whatsoever. It was plain to see from the outset that the swap was one-sided and that was proven quickly. With the pain of that deal fresh on the team’s mind, you’d think the Wild would reserve some caution with future decisions, but recent rumors surrounding the team suggest the Wild will instead dive headfirst into the offseason with reckless abandon.

Step one in that endgame appears to be trading Jason Zucker, a move that feels like the direct-to-DVD sequel of the Niederreiter deal in that it looks likely to be another trade the Wild lose. That’s especially true considering some of the names Minnesota has been targeting: Sam Bennett and Michael Frolik from Calgary, Christian Dvorak and Christian Fischer from Arizona, Jonathan Marchessault from Vegas and lastly Phil Kessel from Pittsburgh, in a deal that almost went down just last week.

On the surface, you can make a case for each package. The one from Calgary features former fourth overall pick Bennett. The one from Arizona features two players under 23. And the ones from Vegas and Pittsburgh feature offensive stars that can fill the net. These are all needs for an aging and offensively-anemic Wild team and it makes sense that Minnesota would use Zucker – its best trade chip – to meet those needs. However, it ignores the fact that the Wild would arguably be trading the best player in each scenario and teams rarely win those kinds of deals. The other packages may meet team needs, but they don’t make up the value lost in losing a player like Zucker.

That’s plain to see with Calgary’s or Arizona’s package, but not so much with what the team asked for from Pittsburgh or Vegas. To some, the idea of favorably comparing Zucker, a 21-goal and 42-point scorer last season, to Marchessault, who’s scored at a 69-point pace as a Golden Knight, or Kessel, who has played point-per-game hockey in back-to-back seasons, might seem crazy but Zucker’s value warrants a deeper dive.

For starters, Zucker, 27, is younger than both Marchessault, 28, and Kessel, 31. The age curve matters here, especially with Kessel entering his 30’s and likely slowing down as a result. With Minnesota trending downwards and needing to get younger, trading for an older player feels like a misguided and directionless strategy. It means either move would be of the “win-now” variety, an optimistic gambit for a team that finished with 83 points last season.

It’s unlikely either swap would pan out well in that regard either. Yes, Marchessault and Kessel have scored more points, but in context, the gap in production between the three is much smaller and Zucker offers much more outside of that.

Over the last three seasons, Zucker’s point rate on a per-minute basis lags behind the other two (1.93 vs. Marchessault’s 2.08 and Kessel’s 2.15), but that’s mostly due to a weak 2018-19 campaign where he scored on just 6.9 percent of his shots and his teammates scored on just 5.7 percent while on the ice with him. Those numbers were at 11.7 and 9.5 percent in the previous two seasons respectively.

In that sense, the Wild would be selling low on a player that appears poised to bounce back next season.

The other thing to remember is the importance of linemates when it comes to production as who a player plays with has a hefty influence on the numbers he can realistically produce. It’s a lot easier to score next to Evgeni Malkin (2.54 points-per-60 over the last three years) rather than Mikko Koivu (1.33) or Eric Staal (2.01) as your go-to pivots. Even William Karlsson (2.21), Marchessault’s usual mate, has been stronger in that regard.

Five-on-five scoring is only part of the battle though. Offense on the power play is critical and it’s here where Kessel appears a bit more tantalizing. Over the last three seasons, Zucker has posted 30 points on the power play, Marchessault has posted 50 while Kessel has earned 107. That’s a 77-point gap from top-to-bottom compared to the 13-point edge for Kessel at 5-on-5.

Much of that difference is due to opportunity though. Over the last three seasons, Kessel has played 500 more minutes on the power play than Zucker while Marchessault has played 230 more. There’s a massive difference between getting 32 percent of a team’s power-play time like Zucker has over the last three seasons and 72 percent like Kessel has. And though the point-per-60 advantage (7.4 to 4.8 in favor of Kessel over Zucker) is still large, it’s difficult to imagine Kessel would still be producing such figures on a power play that was much less stacked than Pittsburgh’s. In fact, prior to the last two seasons where he’s been above eight in back-to-back seasons, Kessel’s career points-per-60 on the power play was “only” 4.8, which is the same as Zucker over the last few seasons.

Player production is important, but context is key as there’s a lot of ways it can be obfuscated. In Zucker’s case, he is definitely behind Kessel and Marchessault, but the gap is arguably much smaller than raw points makes it out to be.

Zucker’s value in the possession game is where he really shines and it’s here where the Wild would likely lose any deal that included him. Not many players influence a team’s expected goals rate at both ends of the ice as well as Zucker has over the last few seasons, especially not Kessel and Marchessault who simply aren’t as strong offensively and nowhere near as staunch defensively.

Both Hockey Viz’s isolated threat and Evolving Hockey’s RAPM back up that claim.

With Zucker on the ice, the Wild create more dangerous opportunities than the Golden Knights with Marchessault or the Penguins with Kessel, but the even larger difference is in their own zone. Zucker’s play defensively is a net positive while the latter two seem to bleed chances, specifically Kessel who has very much earned his reputation as a weak defensive player over the last few seasons.


The points from Kessel and Marchessault are nice but don’t mean much if the two just end up giving it back the other way. The difference between the expected goals rate for Zucker and the other two is massive and more than makes up for the difference in production. Even by actual goals, the Wild are at plus-0.89 per 60 with Zucker on the ice over the last three seasons, while Marchessault is at plus-0.36 and Kessel is at plus-0.32.

What this all adds up to is a potential trade where the Wild either lose roughly 0.5 wins of value (Marchessault) or 0.9 wins (Kessel) according to my model. While that’s slightly more palatable than deals with Calgary (minus-1.5 wins) or Arizona (minus-2.2 wins) in terms of current value, they’re deals conceived to extract more current value and it likely doesn’t even accomplish that. And that’s if the potential trade is one-for-one. Last week, the rumour was the Wild were willing to sweeten the pot by exchanging their toxic asset (Rask) for an even more toxic asset (Jack Johnson), which is difficult to stomach for a team that’s already seeing less on-ice value in the deal and paying more money to do so on an older player.

Fortunately for the team, Kessel saved the Wild from themselves by nixing the deal with his no-trade clause, but the leaked deal (and subsequent leaked targets) still speaks volumes about how the Wild value Zucker – one of the most underrated players in the league, even apparently to his own team – and evaluate players as a whole.

While a majority of the league is moving towards using data to better assess player value, the Wild seem to be moving away from it considering the deals they’ve already made and the deals they may make going forward. While other teams are bolstering their analytics staffs, Minnesota has instead squandered the huge competitive advantage of hiring talent early by letting Andrew C. Thomas go earlier this year and seeing Alexandra Mandrycky walk shortly after – two WAR On Ice alums and some of the brightest minds in the business.

The strangest part of it all is not just how easily avoidable this all can be with a deeper look under the hood, but that it’s a mistake the team should have already learned from after dealing Niederreiter. The Wild may be right to trade Zucker considering the team looks destined for a rebuild, but not when his value is at its lowest and not for a return disproportionate to said value.

With the team aggressively shopping him at the deadline and at the onset of the offseason, a Zucker trade before 2019-20 feels like a foregone conclusion. So too does losing that trade.
(Top photo: Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
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