Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Jason Zucker

Arizona Coyotes Sign Jason Zucker

at CDT | by 5 Comments

The Arizona Coyotes have made some noise on the free agent market, inking winger Jason Zucker to a one-year $5.3MM deal per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Yesterday evening, Craig Morgan of PHNX put out an article detailing General Manager Bill Armstrong’s approach to the opening up of free agency. Grabbing a quote, Armstrong said, “Our approach in free agency is to make our team better for tomorrow, but not worse in three to four years. We don’t want the deals that we do today to take away from deals that we could be doing when we’re really good so there’s some short-term deals to be had.”

Keeping that frame of reference in mind, this deal for Zucker entirely fits the mold of what the Coyotes are trying to accomplish. Not only does this deal make the team better in the short-term, but the ability to trade Zucker at the deadline for assets is important for the team as well in the midst of their rebuild.

In a career that will now span over 13 seasons, Zucker has only played for two teams, the Minnesota Wild and Pittsburgh Penguins. Acquired at the 2019-20 deadline by Pittsburgh, Zucker did not take off offensively until this past season. Reaching his highest scoring totals since the 2017-18 season, Zucker scored 27 goals and 21 assists in 78 games for the Penguins this year.

Zucker immediately becomes one of the team’s best forward options, able to play both sides of the wing. Primarily leaning heavily into goal-scoring, Zucker should benefit well from the high-level playmaking ability of Clayton Keller on the opposite wing. Zucker is also a physical player as well, throwing 197 hits last year in Pittsburgh, giving Arizona the opportunity to move him anywhere throughout the lineup.

Unless his plays completely fall off the rails, or the Coyotes take a major leap in the standings next year, it is unlikely that Zucker will finish the year in Arizona. In the meantime, the Coyotes improve in the short-term, while also adding to their trade arsenal come next trade deadline season.

Penguins Notes: First Round Pick, Buyouts, Free Agency

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Pittsburgh Penguins interim general manager Kyle Dubas held a brief media availability today, touching on many of the choices he’ll have to make as he guides the team through his first offseason at the helm. With the team in a tough situation, unable to truly rebuild after missing the playoffs for the first time in nearly two decades, Dubas has a thin line to walk to prepare the right roster for 2023-24 while not impeding the team’s long-term outlook.

One of those matters is that of Pittsburgh’s first-round pick, slated for 14th overall on Wednesday. It’s their highest selection since drafting defenseman Derrick Pouliot eighth overall in 2012, and Dubas says the team will likely keep the pick. Pittsburgh has some (but not a lot) of salary maneuverability, and Dubas says that any big trade will likely come with another team looking to shed a mid-tier salaried contract.

Other Penguins notes:

  • One avenue Dubas likely won’t take to clear additional cap space is a buyout. He told reporters today he doesn’t prefer to use them, citing more “creative solutions” to opening up a team’s financial picture. Forward Mikael Granlund, who had just five points in 21 games after a midseason trade and is under contract for two more seasons at $5MM per year, was a highly speculated buyout candidate this offseason. If the team can’t find a way to move him in a deal, he’ll likely be sticking around for the time being.
  • Dubas also says the team won’t be going after any high-profile free agents, instead aiming to hit on some value bets – something he had a great deal of success doing during his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He mentioned the door isn’t closed on contract extensions with Jason Zucker and Tristan Jarry, the latter of which is crucial for the team’s clarity without a ton of other goalie options on the open market. He alluded to defenseman Brian Dumoulin heading to the open market, and they’ll look to replace his spot with a more cost-effective UFA.

East Notes: Zucker, Red Wings, Maple Leafs

at CDT | by 7 Comments

Jason Zucker had a strong showing for the Penguins this past season, notching 27 goals and 21 assists while, perhaps most importantly, staying healthy after a pair of injury-plagued years.  Despite that, Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests that the prudent move for Pittsburgh would be to not bring the pending unrestricted free agent back for next season.  The 31-year-old is likely to be seeking a contract similar to the $5MM AAV he has played on the last five years and with the team needing to eventually transition toward becoming a younger and quicker team, locking up another player well into their thirties won’t exactly accomplish that objective.  Not bringing Zucker back would also give Kyle Dubas more flexibility to work with this summer, albeit with an extra opening of significance on his roster.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • It appears that the Red Wings won’t bring back any of their pending unrestricted free agents, suggests Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now. Duff adds that Detroit is believed to have made a one-year offer to center Pius Suter who declined in the hopes of securing a multi-year commitment while winger Alex Chiasson has passed on a two-way offer, hoping to land a one-way deal on the open market this summer.  Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic and winger Adam Erne are among the other players set to hit the open market in a couple of weeks.
  • It’s extremely unlikely that the Maple Leafs bring back forward Alexander Kerfoot or defenseman Justin Holl, reports Postmedia’s Lance Hornby. Kerfoot has been a capable secondary producer over his four seasons in Toronto but cap space will be at a premium and they wouldn’t be able to offer him the $3.5MM he made on his set-to-expire contract.  As for Holl, he has shown himself to be a serviceable role player on the back end but it appears that Toronto is trying to re-sign Luke Schenn to fill that spot, pushing the 31-year-out out of a place in the lineup.  Both players will hit the open market two Saturdays from today.

NHL Notes: Zucker, Drury, Andersen

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Seth Rorabaugh of Trib Live Sports is reporting that free agent winger Jason Zucker has made it clear that he wants to remain a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Zucker was able to remain healthy this season for the first time since the 2018-19 season when he was a member of the Minnesota Wild. Zucker flourished in a top six role for the Penguins this year, which was a pleasant, albeit unexpected surprise. Zucker spent much of last summer as a possible trade or buyout candidate, but the Penguins never found a suitor for the California native and elected to hang onto him.

Zucker rewarded Pittsburgh with his best season as a Penguin. He tallied 27 goals and 48 points in 78 games while playing on a second line with Evgeni Malkin. Zucker was also one of the few Penguins who showed an emotional pulse as the team was free falling out of a playoff position in the dying weeks of the regular season. There were many nights in which Pittsburgh appeared to be sleepwalking through the game only to be awakened by a huge hit by the small forward.

Zucker will have suitors and could very well fetch a contract that exceeds his previous cap hit of $5.5MM. Zucker is just 31 years old, and while injuries are certainly a concern given his track record, the lack of game breaking forwards on the free agent market should allow Zucker to cash in on his bounce back season.

In other notes from around the NHL:

  • Chip Alexander of Raleigh News & Observer is reporting that Rod Brind’Amour said that Jack Drury is feeling better today. This comes on the heels of Drury leaving game four yesterday after taking a hard hit into the boards in the first period. The center is in the midst of a 14-game goalless drought and played just 1:20 in the Hurricanes 5-2 win over the New York Islanders. Drury had just eight points in 38 games in the regular season, but with the Hurricanes battling through various injuries the 23-year-old played over 15 minutes in both games two and three of Carolina’s first round series.
  • Alexander also tweeted that Brind’Amour said goaltender Frederik Andersen is good to go for the Carolina Hurricanes. Andersen will likely be relegated to a backup role as Antti Raanta has backstopped the Hurricanes to a 3-1 series lead against the Islanders. Raanta has posted a solid .915 save percentage for Carolina after going 19-3-3 in the regular season. While it seems likely that Andersen won’t see action until the second round, he could get into a game should Raanta stumble in any of the next few games.

Penguins Injury Notes: Petry, Rust, DeSmith

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Rob Rossi of The Athletic is reporting that injured Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jeff Petry is back skating. He has not practiced with the team but took to the ice after yesterdays practice in Colorado. The Penguins defense has been decimated by injuries in recent days as Petry, Jan Rutta, Dmitry Kulikov and Marcus Pettersson are all sidelined with various ailments. Things have become so dire for the Penguins that even potential call-ups Ty Smith and Xavier Ouellet are hurt as well.

The timing of these injuries could not be worse for Pittsburgh, they are in a dogfight with the Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins have been forced to dive deep into their AHL lineup to find replacements for their injured rearguards and are now using the Taylor Fedun to fill out their roster. Fedun played Monday night against the Ottawa Senators and was fine in a sheltered role, but should the Penguins defense ever get healthy he would likely be the 12th defenseman.

Petry has not had a great first season in Pittsburgh, he has been in and out of the lineup with various injuries throughout the season. When he has played, he has largely been okay, but with a cap hit of $6.25MM the Penguins can’t afford for him to be just okay. The Michigan native has 26 points in 52 games and has been a valuable part of Marcus Pettersson’s development this season, but he has had trouble at times matching the foot speed of the young forwards on some of Pittsburgh’s Eastern Conference rivals.

In other Penguins injury news:

  • Bryan Rust left yesterday’s Penguins practice in disgust after taking a Jason Zucker shot off his right hand. Rust returned a short time later and no update was provided on the incident. Pittsburgh will not practice today, which means we likely won’t have any updates until their game this evening with the Colorado Avalanche. Rob Rossi did tweet that Rust’s return to the ice for practice appeared to be a good sign. It has been a difficult season for the 30-year-old forward, he has 38 points in 69 games which is well off his near point a game pace from the three previous seasons. He has appeared visibly frustrated in recent weeks, the most obvious instance being in Monday’s game against Ottawa when his failure to clear the zone on a Senators powerplay led to the game winning goal.
  • Rob Rossi of The Athletic is also reporting that Casey DeSmith did not participate in Penguins practice yesterday. While he was not injured, he was apparently forced back to the team’s hotel with an illness. Not much else is known, but it could create another interesting development for the Penguins as they have a back-to-back tonight in Colorado and then in Dallas tomorrow against the Stars. DeSmith stood on his head earlier this season with a 41 save win against the Avalanche and would have presumably started tonight or tomorrow’s game. Should he remain sick it could force the Penguins to use Jarry in both games, which is something they may be hesitant to do given Jarry’s play lately. The Surrey native has struggled in recent weeks having been pulled in four of his previous 11 starts, this has cratered his save percentage which now sits at just .907 for the season. Not ideal for a goaltender who is just over three months away from unrestricted free agency.

Jason Zucker Out Week-To-Week

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Not only will the Pittsburgh Penguins be without Jeff Petry for at least several weeks after placing him on long-term injured reserve yesterday, but now Jason Zucker is out too. Head coach Mike Sullivan explained today that Zucker is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury and will not travel with the club when they travel to Florida for tomorrow’s game against the Panthers.

Petry will be out “longer-term” according to Sullivan, though a clear timeline has not been given at this point. Neither player is expected to require surgery.

It is unfortunate news for Zucker, who was having a nice bounce-back season after two injury-riddled campaigns. He had just totaled just 18 and 17 points the last two years, numbers he had already surpassed this year with 20 points in his first 27 games. The versatile winger was playing regular minutes and had two assists in Monday’s game, including on the game-winning tally from Evgeni Malkin in the dying seconds.

For a player that has taken a lot of heat since he arrived in Pittsburgh, it looked like the 30-year-old was getting back to the player that scored 33 goals and 64 points for the Minnesota Wild in 2017-18. Unfortunately, the rebirth of that player will have to wait at least a few games as he deals with the lower-body injury.

Not only was this his best performance as a Penguin but Zucker is also a pending free agent, and a big year could set him up for a substantial payday. He’ll be 31 when the market opens next summer, coming off a five-year, $27.5MM deal he signed with Minnesota in 2018.

Injury Notes: Palat, Guentzel, Zucker

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The New Jersey Devils will be without forward Ondrej Palat tonight as they look to avenge their home-opener loss to the Detroit Red Wings, according to the team. The team noted Palat has a lower-body injury and did not list a timeline.

Palat played over 20 minutes in last night’s game against the Washington Capitals, and it’s unclear as to when he suffered the injury. 23-year-old Fabian Zetterlund, who has an assist in his only NHL appearance this season (which came against the Red Wings), will draw in tonight.

  • Jake Guentzel will remain out with an ear injury for the third straight game tonight, according to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Guentzel had five points in four games before going down with the injury against the Los Angeles Kings on October 20. His status remains day-to-day, and Danton Heinen will continue to sub in for Guentzel on the team’s top line.
  • The Penguins also noted that forward Jason Zucker will miss tonight’s game against the Calgary Flames and that his status is day-to-day. In his place, 2019 first-round pick Samuel Poulin will make his NHL debut. Zucker was also in the midst of a strong start, notching six points through six games.

Metropolitan Notes: Zucker, Bailey, Hagelin

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Jason Zucker’s tenure with the Penguins has been a tough one with the veteran struggling to stay healthy and not being as productive as expected when he has played.  With that in mind, some wondered if they’d try to find a home for him this summer.  As Dave Molinari of Pittsburgh Hockey Now reports, they did have the opportunity to do so but elected to not pay the high premium it would have cost to do so.  The proposal, which is believed to come from a division rival, would have seen the Penguins part with a first-round pick to clear the final year and $5.5MM of his deal off the books while not receiving anything in return.  We’ve seen that happen recently with the Sean Monahan trade but it would have been a steep price to pay for Pittsburgh.  Interestingly, no team in the division has the money to take on Zucker’s deal outright so this opportunity likely would have come early in the summer before other moves were made.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • While some expected the Islanders to move Josh Bailey in order to free up cap space this summer, Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that the winger was told at the draft that he wouldn’t be getting moved. The 32-year-old managed to record 44 points in 74 games last season but has seen his production taper off over the last few seasons compared to a three-year stretch where he had at least 56 points per season.  Bailey has two years left on a contract that carries a $5MM AAV and in this trade market, New York would have been hard-pressed to get top value for his services if they did move him.
  • Capitals winger Carl Hagelin took part in informal team skates without needing a no-contact designation, relays Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (Twitter link). The veteran has been dealing with an eye injury that has his availability for the upcoming season in question but the fact he’s skating without restriction bodes well for him.  The 34-year-old had 14 points in 53 games last season.

Metropolitan Notes: Hurricanes, Zucker, Jiricek

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Hurricanes GM Don Waddell indicated to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer that he expects to reach a settlement with defenseman Maxime Lajoie in advance of Tuesday’s arbitration hearing.  The 24-year-old spent most of the season in the minors so a new agreement shouldn’t be hard to come to.  What’s notable is that once that new deal is reached, Carolina will get their second buyout window soon after and Waddell didn’t rule out the possibility of using it but noted that they could make things work without going that route.  A player must make $4MM to be eligible to be bought out in this window and blueliner Jake Gardiner – who missed all of last season with back and hip issues – makes $4.05MM.  He has been cleared to return which does make him eligible to be bought out.  Once Lajoie’s deal is signed, the buyout window will open up three days later and lasts 48 hours.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Penguins winger Jason Zucker has recovered from the series of lower-body injuries that plagued him in the second half of last season, notes NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce. It has been a tough go for the 30-year-old who has recorded just 47 points in 94 games since being acquired by Pittsburgh just before the 2020 trade deadline.  Next season will be a contract year for Zucker and unless he can get back to the form he had with Minnesota, he’ll be looking at a considerably cheaper deal next summer compared to his current $5.5MM AAV.
  • Blue Jackets prospect David Jiricek has been cleared to join the Czechs for the upcoming World Juniors, their hockey federation announced (Twitter link). The 18-year-old tested positive for COVID-19 late last month and wasn’t able to travel with the rest of the team to begin tournament preparations.  Jiricek, the sixth-overall pick last month, will be Czechia’s top defenseman in this event and a strong performance could help get him in the mix for a roster spot with Columbus for the upcoming season.

East Notes: Zucker, Pandolfo, Devils

at CDT | by 6 Comments

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jason Zucker has struggled with injuries all season long, as the 30-year-old was limited to just 41 games during the regular season. Despite that, it looks like Zucker will be healthy enough to slot into the Penguins’ lineup for Game 2 tonight against the New York Rangers, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Mike DeFabo. Zucker could replace Rickard Rakell in the lineup, who was injured in Game 1’s triple-overtime win.

Game 2 will be a tougher outing for the Penguins, as NHL journeyman Louis Domingue, third on the team’s goalie depth chart, looks to start his first career playoff game. Zucker last played on April 26 before leaving that game with a lower-body injury. If Zucker can’t play, it’s likely youngster Drew O’Connor will make his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut.

  • While the Boston Bruins struggle in the First Round against the Carolina Hurricanes, a former coach is getting put in the spotlight today. Longtime NHLer Jay Pandolfo was named as the 13th head coach of the Boston University Terriers today, just one season after he departed the Bruins organization as an assistant coach. Pandolfo was a member of Boston’s coaching staff from 2014-2021, reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2019. Now, after one season as the associate head coach at BU, he’ll get the chance to lead the team himself. In Pandolfo’s final season as a player at BU, 1995-96, he torched the college circuit as the team’s captain with 38 goals and 67 points in just 39 games.
  • New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald today left the door open on trading the team’s 2022 first-round draft choice, specifically to upgrade the team’s goaltending situation. The Devils were a much better team than their record indicated this season, largely because of injuries in the crease to both Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier. With Bernier’s playing future uncertain and Blackwood not emerging as a true no. 1 goalie just yet, the team will look to add an established body to the crease to help propel them toward a playoff spot. A weak free-agent market leaves the Devils with few choices there, so a trade is the most likely option for the Devils to be able to upgrade.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top