Player Discussion Jason Zucker

[57special]

But almost all our size ends up on the one line.

 

[Al Lagoon]

But almost all our size ends up on the one line.

He scoooooorrrrres!

 

[57special]

So, he's (the dreaded) on pace for 20g, 35a. More importantly, he looks great. His speed is changing games, and not just offensively. He has learned how to forecheck without getting hammered (same with Granlund), and has really taken off playing with better quality team mates. I would also say that his game is a perfect match for Granny's passing ability and smarts to put Zucker in good positions, and his speed makeds up for Koivu's slowness, while MK's size and other skills allow Zucker to take off up the ice.

If Zucker gets 50+ pts. do we want him to go to LV? He is precisely the sort of player that fans have been clamoring for. A speedy, scoring forward. He is only 24, and is signed at 2M for one more year. Do we really want to let that go? Can we afford to? I certainly am NOT cool throwing him in as a bribe for LV to take Scandella instead of Dumba. I think the Wild can far more afford to lose Dumba than they can Zucker and Scandella.

 

[Bruce Granville]

So, he's (the dreaded) on pace for 20g, 35a. More importantly, he looks great. His speed is changing games, and not just offensively. He has learned how to forecheck without getting hammered (same with Granlund), and has really taken off playing with better quality team mates. I would also say that his game is a perfect match for Granny's passing ability and smarts to put Zucker in good positions, and his speed makeds up for Koivu's slowness, while MK's size and other skills allow Zucker to take off up the ice.

If Zucker gets 50+ pts. do we want him to go to LV? He is precisely the sort of player that fans have been clamoring for. A speedy, scoring forward. He is only 24, and is signed at 2M for one more year. Do we really want to let that go? Can we afford to? I certainly am NOT cool throwing him in as a bribe for LV to take Scandella instead of Dumba. I think the Wild can far more afford to lose Dumba than they can Zucker and Scandella.

He isn't a bribe. If he keeps up his good work, he will be LV's choice.

 

[Al Lagoon]

He isn't a bribe. If he keeps up his good work, he will be LV's choice.

And likely become their future captain.

I would sure hate to lose the entertainment factor he brings to the Wild.

 

[ThatGuy22]

So, he's (the dreaded) on pace for 20g, 35a. More importantly, he looks great. His speed is changing games, and not just offensively. He has learned how to forecheck without getting hammered (same with Granlund), and has really taken off playing with better quality team mates. I would also say that his game is a perfect match for Granny's passing ability and smarts to put Zucker in good positions, and his speed makeds up for Koivu's slowness, while MK's size and other skills allow Zucker to take off up the ice.

If Zucker gets 50+ pts. do we want him to go to LV? He is precisely the sort of player that fans have been clamoring for. A speedy, scoring forward. He is only 24, and is signed at 2M for one more year. Do we really want to let that go? Can we afford to? I certainly am NOT cool throwing him in as a bribe for LV to take Scandella instead of Dumba. I think the Wild can far more afford to lose Dumba than they can Zucker and Scandella.

Wild are in a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Whomever we lose, is going to hurt. Badly.

 

[DANOZ28]

what impresses me is almost every game hes used his speed & creativity to generate a breakaway (or partial break). he is getting better & having a good rebound year after last years bellyflop on ice. i dont have his jersey however i did look for it the one day 1/2 price sale after the lockout but couldnt find it.

 

[ClayAikenFan77]

What a season Zucker is having. 32 5-on-5 points... That's 3rd in the league only behind McDavid (36) and Burns (33).

 

[57special]

Yeah. His puck handling has gotten way better. Good passer now, too. He also seems to have figured out how to protect himself out there, as has Granlund. Both of them went through a period where they threw caution to the winds and tried to play " big". A couple three concussions later, they've adjusted their game so they still are effective along the boards, but doing it in a smart way, and avoiding unnecessary shots.

Spurgeon went through the same adjustment about 3-4 years ago. Used to hold my breath every time he went out on the ice.

 

[keppel146]

Yeah. His puck handling has gotten way better. Good passer now, too. He also seems to have figured out how to protect himself out there, as has Granlund. Both of them went through a period where they threw caution to the winds and tried to play " big". A couple three concussions later, they've adjusted their game so they still are effective along the boards, but doing it in a smart way, and avoiding unnecessary shots.

Spurgeon went through the same adjustment about 3-4 years ago. Used to hold my breath every time he went out on the ice.

I think his skating has gotten better too. Almost like his inside edge skating like Crosby. I think in the 1st last night, he was trying a little too hard, falling, and almost could have gotten called for a penalty. That always worries me when guys try too hard.

 

[57special]

Our best player this year, so far. Hopefully Carly will work on getting a Nanny who will do night time duty for the babe.

 

[Wild11MN]

He's had a lot of dirty goals the past few games. Who'd of thunk Zucker would be our best net-front presence?

 

[Kase]

Between this and last season Zucker is 13th in the NHL in 5vs5 points with 50, which is really impressive. And this is the first time in his career when he is getting regular pp time so I think it's safe to assume that he might put some serious point totals this season.

If Zucker puts around 60 points this season, what kind of contract are you expecting him to get? If Wild wants to sign him long term, the money has to be something close to what Granlund got so around 5.5m/year. Can Wild afford to give Zucker that kind of money without trading anyone?

 

[Wabit]

Between this and last season Zucker is 13th in the NHL in 5vs5 points with 50, which is really impressive. And this is the first time in his career when he is getting regular pp time so I think it's safe to assume that he might put some serious point totals this season.

If Zucker puts around 60 points this season, what kind of contract are you expecting him to get? If Wild wants to sign him long term, the money has to be something close to what Granlund got so around 5.5m/year. Can Wild afford to give Zucker that kind of money without trading anyone?

If Zucker puts up a 30g/30a season he'll get a bigger contract than Granny. He has the 20g seasons and higher s% to back up those numbers. Granny didn't, his season really came out of nowhere.

The Wild have $11m in cap space (with a flat cap) for next year to fill 5-7 spots (4th line, 3rd pair, pressbox). Dumba and Zucker are the one RFA's that need signing. Ennis buyout is a possibility instead of trading anyone.

 

[MoeTheHobo]

FIRST STAR - JASON ZUCKER, LW, MINNESOTA WILD

Zucker led the NHL with six goals and seven points in four games (6-1-7) to power the Wild (7-7-2, 16 points) to a pair of victories. He collected one assist in a 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins Nov. 6. Zucker then scored each of the next six goals for the Wild, beginning with two in a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Nov. 8. He added his first career hat trick, including the decisive marker, in a 3-0 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens Nov. 9 and then capped the week with the lone tally in a 1-0 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers Nov. 11. In doing so, Zucker became the first NHL player to record six straight team goals since Boston's Glen Murray in 2003-04. The 25-year-old Las Vegas native - who is one shy of matching the League record for consecutive team goals scored - paces Minnesota with nine tallies and 14 points in 16 contests this season.

 

[Wabit]

Well that answers the question someone asked: What the record was for most consecutive team goals scored by a player? 7.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I'd give Zucker Nino's deal right this minute.

 

[Bazeek]

I'd give Zucker Nino's deal right this minute.

Agreed. Any reservations I may have had with his consistency or being a product of line-mates or whatever have evaporated over the course of the last 2 seasons. And while I expect him to cool off some, if he does keep this up for the rest of the season he's going to get paaaid.

 

[57special]

I'd give Zucker Nino's deal right this minute.

As long as he agrees to a vasectomy.

 

[ThatGuy22]

Personally, i'd need to see more before offering him the Nino deal. When he's on, he's electric. Has been for 5 years, and he's definitely on right now.

But when he's off, he's invisible. And just before the last road trip he had a 3 or 4 game stretch where he was off. Now that's normal for any player, and it certainly could understandably be the new kid, which no one would blame him for.

But in the past, he's had those for weeks or a month. And I need to see that not happening before I commit Nino money to him. Especially given Nino had a longer track record of being an all around player and consistent scorer. Just my two cents. Never a good idea to give a contract off of a hot streak (Scandella).

Edit: I should clarify I do want Zucker in a Wild jersey for a long long time. I just don't think we need to come out of the gate with the Nino offer because he's shooting 20% through the first 17 games of the season.

 

[Bazeek]

Personally, i'd need to see more before offering him the Nino deal. When he's on, he's electric. Has been for 5 years, and he's definitely on right now.

But when he's off, he's invisible. And just before the last road trip he had a 3 or 4 game stretch where he was off. Now that's normal for any player, and it certainly could understandably be the new kid, which no one would blame him for.

But in the past, he's had those for weeks or a month. And I need to see that not happening before I commit Nino money to him. Especially given Nino had a longer track record of being an all around player and consistent scorer. Just my two cents. Never a good idea to give a contract off of a hot streak (Scandella).

Edit: I should clarify I do want Zucker in a Wild jersey for a long long time. I just don't think we need to come out of the gate with the Nino offer because he's shooting 20% through the first 17 games of the season.

That's fair. There's probably a good argument to be made for him getting a smaller contract than Nino right now, but it's the "right now" that makes me at least a little itchy. I'm not sure how interested either he or Fletcher is in negotiating an extension at the moment, but it'd be real nice to have it done before, say, Christmas. Anything can happen, but I strongly suspect his expected contract will only go up as this season plays out.

 

[Nharris31]

Personally, i'd need to see more before offering him the Nino deal. When he's on, he's electric. Has been for 5 years, and he's definitely on right now.

But when he's off, he's invisible. And just before the last road trip he had a 3 or 4 game stretch where he was off. Now that's normal for any player, and it certainly could understandably be the new kid, which no one would blame him for.

But in the past, he's had those for weeks or a month. And I need to see that not happening before I commit Nino money to him. Especially given Nino had a longer track record of being an all around player and consistent scorer. Just my two cents. Never a good idea to give a contract off of a hot streak (Scandella).

Edit: I should clarify I do want Zucker in a Wild jersey for a long long time. I just don't think we need to come out of the gate with the Nino offer because he's shooting 20% through the first 17 games of the season.

I wouldn’t give him that contract. But it’s not like his scoring is a surprise he has two twenty goal seasons and he wasn’t getting powerplay time in those seasons. This year he is.

 

[ThatGuy22]

I wouldn’t give him that contract. But it’s not like his scoring is a surprise he has two twenty goal seasons and he wasn’t getting powerplay time in those seasons. This year he is.

He certainly should be expected to score in the 20+ goal range. But he does have a 13 goal season sandwiched in there, and 20% shooting is ridiculous and not likely to sustain. So i'm just saying don't offer a contract based on it over a 17 game sample size, when he's previous highs in goals are just over 20

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

He certainly should be expected to score in the 20+ goal range. But he does have a 13 goal season sandwiched in there, and 20% shooting is ridiculous and not likely to sustain. So i'm just saying don't offer a contract based on it over a 17 game sample size, when he's previous highs in goals are just over 20

It's a 96 games sample size.

 

[ThatGuy22]

It's a 96 games sample size.

I wouldn't offer Zucker 5.25 million x 5 years based on his 22 goal, 47 point season and the comparables aren't there to do it. And i'd be shocked if anyone else around here would have a month ago. Which means an inordinate amount of weight is being placed on this 17 game season where he is shooting 20% with two empty net goals.

Again, I love Zucker. And if he'd take 4.25 million for 3-8 years right now, sign me up as that's closer to the range his career comparables would dictate. He doesn't have the track record for Nino's deal yet.