When it comes to their wings, the Canucks aren鈥檛 quite flight ready.
The Canucks have two very good top-six centres in Elias Pettersson and Bo Horvat, but they lack wingers to play with them. Aside from Brock Boeser, there are more questions than answers on the wings. Can Sven Baertschi stay healthy? Was a mirage or a sign of things to come? Can Jake Virtanen or Josh Leivo take a big step forward? Will things click into place for Nikolay Goldobin?
With that much uncertainty and little help expected from their prospect pool next season, the Canucks could look elsewhere for a top-six forward, like free agency or the trade market. In fact, there鈥檚 on particular forward that has popped up in rumours: Minnesota Wild winger Jason Zucker.
, the Canucks are very interested in Zucker.
鈥淚 won鈥檛 say who it is, but it鈥檚 a pretty decent source, enough that I trust that I鈥檒l go live on the air with this,鈥� said Halford. 鈥淨uote: 鈥楳ike, I鈥檓 hearing that 麻豆传媒映画is all over Jason Zucker. There are multiple trade offers on the table.鈥欌��
Here鈥檚 the plus side of the Canucks鈥� interest in Zucker: he鈥檚 a very good top-six winger.
Zucker has scored 76 goals over the past three seasons, with a career high of 33 in 2017-18. For a team as goal-starved as the Canucks, a reliable source of 20+ goals would be a godsend.
In the offensive zone, Zucker has a nose for the net and gets himself into goalscoring areas at the top of the crease. He has great hands in front and does more than just whack at rebounds: he鈥檒l show poise and move the puck around a goaltender or finish with an accurate deflection, wrist shot, or one-timer.
You can see Zucker constantly moving in front of the net, trying to find a more advantageous position to receive a pass. He battles well in front to keep his stick free. At times he reminds me a little of how Alex Burrows would get open in front with the Sedins. A player that can find openings like Zucker can be very valuable to a playmaking centre.
Zucker helps drive puck possession for the Wild, with fantastic zone exit and zone entry numbers: when he gets the puck in the defensive zone, he鈥檚 in the 93rd percentile of NHL forwards for his rate of moving the puck out of the zone with possession. His offensive impact at 5-on-5 is significant, because of this combination of transitioning the puck up ice and getting to the front of the net for great scoring chances, as you can see in his heat map from .听
Zucker is also one of the best in the NHL when it comes to drawing penalties. Over the last three seasons, Zucker has drawn 71 minor penalties, which is ninth in the league in that time. He鈥檚 only taken 35 minor penalties, so he鈥檚 given the Wild a lot of power plays.
Add in some solid work on both sides of special teams and you have a seriously impactful player. According to , Zucker has been the Wild鈥檚 most valuable player over the past three seasons, leading them in overall WAR with 8.7, just ahead of Jared Spurgeon, Nino Niederreiter, and Mikael Granlund.
So, why would the Wild want to trade Zucker? You may as well ask why they wanted to trade Niederreiter. The Wild鈥檚 trade of Niederreiter to the Carolina Hurricanes for Victor Rask was widely panned and Niederreiter thrived with the Hurricanes, scoring 14 goals and 30 points in 36 games in the regular season, though he struggled a little in the playoffs.
The Wild are undergoing a roster revamp, , and Wild GM Paul Fenton evidently doesn鈥檛 see Niederreiter and Zucker as part of the picture going forward. Their loss is potentially another team鈥檚 gain.
Zucker would be a great addition for the Canucks, immediately upgrading their top-six forward group. He could drive play for Pettersson and Boeser and provide finish in front, or anchor a strong two-way line with Horvat and Pearson. His contract is decent value, as he鈥檚 signed for four more years at $5.5 million per year.
The issue is, what will it cost the Canucks to acquire him?
鈥淗e鈥檚 going to cost a lot,鈥� . 鈥淢innesota鈥檚 not making a trade with him and taking back spare parts. That鈥檚 not happening. A deal would be significant, I think, if he鈥檚 involved.鈥�
That鈥檚 an issue, because the Canucks have plenty of spare parts, but not much else to offer in a trade. Minnesota鈥檚 , so that should show just how much they think Zucker could be worth in a potential trade.
The Wild apparently had a deal involving Zucker and Phil Kessel at the trade deadline, but Kessel nixed the deal with his no-trade clause. Now rumours are flying that a Zucker-for-Kessel trade is once again on the table. Kessel is an elite scorer, particularly on the power play, which makes up for his defensive deficiencies, so that provides a little more insight into what the Wild are looking for.
Who can the Canucks move? that teams always ask about their young core 鈥� Horvat, Pettersson, Boeser, and now, Quinn Hughes 鈥� but they鈥檙e all-but-untouchable for a group trying to transition from a rebuild to contention. Who else is there?
鈥淭hatcher Demko is a part of that [untouchable] group and Olli Juolevi has had injury problems, but has the ability to be a very good player for a long time,鈥� said Benning to Kuzma. 鈥淚f I have to package guys I will, but I think Jake [Virtanen] is an important player for us. You have to be patient with this type of player and the power forward game he plays.
鈥淵ou watch the playoffs and you see the size, strength and speed and as he continues to mature, he鈥檚 going to be a valuable guy. That鈥檚 not saying I wouldn鈥檛 move him, but it would have to be a good deal to include him.
鈥淚f we could add somebody to play with Pettersson and Boeser or somebody to play with Pearson and Horvat 鈥� depending on what it takes 鈥� we鈥檒l look at it.鈥�
If the Canucks can acquire Zucker with a package centred around Virtanen, that would be a steal on par with Rask-for-Neiderreiter, but Virtanen is unproven as a scorer in the NHL, particularly in comparison to some of the other players the Wild are rumoured to be pursuing.
Would the modern upgrade of Raymond, Ballard, and a third 鈥� Virtanen, Hutton, and a second 鈥� be enough to get the job done? Consider me skeptical, but it鈥檚 certainly worth exploring for a player of Zucker鈥檚 caliber.
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