The Arizona Coyotes have locked up Jason Zucker to a one-year, $5.3 million deal after he spent the last three-plus seasons as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. His career has definitely had its ups and downs, more so than many others. After being drafted 59th overall in 2010, he spent the first nine and a half seasons of his career in the Minnesota Wild organization until he was dealt to the Penguins.
Zucker has had injury problems in his career that have definitely challenged him. When he’s healthy and on his game, he’s a productive top-six winger that any team would want in their lineup. Between 2020 and 2022, he was only able to dress for 75 games and his production was impacted because of it. What you can expect from him is 20-plus goals, 40-plus points, and a very physical game. But what the Penguins got during those two seasons were injuries that limited his production to 17 goals and 35 points. Although it isn’t a huge difference, cut that in half because of the two seasons it covered and he didn’t contribute a whole lot. Take into account that his contract carried a $5.5 million average annual value (AAV) and while the winger was in and out of the lineup, it didn’t allow the Penguins to address the hole through a trade deadline acquisition.
Related: 2023 NHL Free Agency Tracker
Fortunately for the Penguins and Zucker, he bounced back in a big way and stayed healthy for the 2022-23 season, missing just four games. He came back with 27 goals, 48 points, and a ton of hits (197).
Zucker’s Fit with Coyotes
The Coyotes had to have knowledge of Zucker’s long history of underperforming in the playoffs and viewed it as a risk. The team is now fighting to finally get competitive and push into the playoffs. While he has only been out of the first round once in eight attempts and points don’t necessarily come easy for players on the losing side, his goals and points drop off when the games matter. He has eight goals and 15 points in 46 career playoff games but did pick up his scoring rate for the Penguins, meaning age and experience may be on his side.
Performing in the playoffs next year isn’t a big concern for a Coyotes team that isn’t expected to make it there. Their goal was to add some players that would help push themselves towards the playoffs and Zucker was a great start. He will play a heavy game and will be a necessary addition to the team’s top-six to help some of the younger players along.
If Zucker gets injured, you can expect players like Dylan Guenther or Matias Maccelli to be elevated, but his addition to the lineup takes the pressure off them to score at high rates. With options like Christian Fischer and Nick Ritchie off the roster, a big body that can produce was needed. The Coyotes really didn’t have much scoring outside of their top line, so now they have a six-time 20-goal scorer. The expectation is that he is a leader in the locker room and if the Coyotes are out of the playoff race at the trade deadline, he could be a very nice pickup for a playoff team and net them a solid return. Arizona was really one of the only places that could suit Zucker’s money needs and it should work out for both sides.
