It appears the Pittsburgh Penguins have finally landed the forward they’ve been trying to acquire for some time. TSN’s Bob McKenzie is reporting the Minnesota Wild have trade Jason Zucker to the Pens for Alex Galchenyuk, a 2020 first-round pick and Calen Addison.
Initial reaction seems to be that the Wild made out extremely well in this trade but along with McKenzie’s original tweet announcing the trade, he followed up with a series of tweets about why the Penguins would make this deal.
Zucker, 28, has three more years beyond this one with an AAV of $5.5 million. McKenzie reports the Penguins weren’t initially keen on “giving up prospect defenceman Calen Addison, or for that matter the first-round pick” but the Penguins wanted to maximize the window to win now while both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were difference makers.
And having Zucker under contract for three more years beyond this season, in the eyes of PIT, offsets the loss of a prospect (Addison) and first-round pick that likely wouldn’t be impactful in the PIT lineup for a year or two or three or more. Galchenyuk is UFA at end of season.
Michael Russo of the Athletic reported this morning that Zucker was tired of answering questions about a potential trade, possibly because the feeling was, a trade was coming. He refused to discuss his future and said he’d heard nothing nor had he talked to Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin about a potential deal.
Zucker said, “Whatever happens, happens. I’m done dealing with it. I’m done worrying about it.”
In the end, he didn’t need to worry about it long as he was traded to one of the teams he put on his trade list.
Has the Market Just Been Set?
That the Penguins gave up a first-round pick tells us a lot about what the asking price for some other players might be. While Zucker has term on his deal so the optics of the trade are different, what will Chris Kreider get the New York Rangers?
Related: Jason Spezza Says He’d Like to Return Next Season
