NHL Trade Rumors: 5 teams who should trade for Jason Zucker
5. Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames were the team Zucker was nearly traded to at the trade deadline. Ergo, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him traded to them. The deal reportedly involved Michael Frolik and a draft pick heading to Minnesota.
This trade was so close to happening, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if the talks got revived around the 2019 NHL Draft. Remember, Zucker gets a bit more leverage after July 1 with his no-trade clause.
Frolik is a useful player who would fit well in the Wild’s top-nine forward group. However, he doesn’t quite have the resume of Zucker. Frolik rebuilt his trade value a little bit with a strong showing after being scratched repeatedly.
Zucker would be a terrific fit on the Flames. He’d be precisely what Calgary thought they were getting in James Neal. Except Zucker would probably be even better than that. He’d fit in pretty much anywhere in the Flames lineup. Zucker would be a perfect finisher to complement Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan on the top line.
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He’d also be great in a shutdown role, adding some scoring to the vaunted 3M line. Clearing Frolik’s cap space would likely give the Flames just enough to squeeze in Zucker.
Yes, this would be a bad trade for the Wild. They’re getting a player who, though talented, is objectively worse than Zucker. But hey, this trade already almost happened once.