Jason Zucker’s name has been in trade speculation for several months with word leaking out twice about trades falling through. It may be time to put that to rest for the time being, however. Wild GM Paul Fenton told Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press that after bringing in wingers Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman in free agency, he’s likely done making moves this summer. He believes that the additions plus the return to health of blueliner Mathew Dumba should be enough to vault Minnesota back into postseason contention.
More from the Western Conference:
- Vancouver’s amateur scouting department is undergoing some changes for next season. Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston notes that the Canucks have parted ways with a trio of scouts. One of those, Chris MacDonald, has left for a post with another team but has yet to officially be announced. GM Jim Benning indicated that there will be some further restructuring to the scouting staff in the weeks to come as some of their scouts are shifted into different positions.
- With the Sharks still needing to re-sign restricted free agent winger Kevin Labanc, unrestricted free agent center Joe Thornton, and fill out the rest of their roster, San Jose may still need to trim some payroll. Chelena Goldman of NBC Sports Bay Area suggests that center Melker Karlsson could be a trade candidate as a result. With one year and $2MM left on his deal, his spot on the fourth line could be filled by someone cheaper (such as RFA Dylan Gambrell) which would free up some much-needed funds to use elsewhere.
- The Jets offered defensemen Ben Chiarot a four-year contract with an AAV of just under $3MM per season, reports Postmedia’s Ken Wiebe. However, the blueliner declined the offer and inked a three-year, $10.5MM deal with Montreal instead. The fact that Winnipeg felt that they had the resources to offer Chiarot that type of deal suggests that they could still get involved in the free agent market in the days to come.
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