NHL Trade Rumors: 5 teams who should trade for Jason Zucker
4. Carolina Hurricanes
Frankly, it wouldn’t shock me one bit if Fenton has blocked the Carolina Hurricanes number. Understandable, especially after the Canes fleeced the Wild of Nino Niederreiter. Minnesota gave up a valuable two-way forward who can score and all they got for him was Victor Rask. Rask had just three points after joining the Wild.
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But if Fenton doesn’t have Carolina’s number blocked, they should be calling about Jason Zucker. Ironically, I think he’d be an even better fit with the Hurricanes than Niederreiter. Don’t get me wrong, Nino has been amazing in Carolina and it’s not a coincidence their turn around really started when he arrived.
However, Zucker would give the Hurricanes a viable goal scorer who could easily hit 30 goals. He’d make Carolina an even more lethal team. With his skating and his high hockey IQ, Zucker would fit in perfectly with the Hurricanes.
The only thing is, what could Carolina offer them? Under Fenton, the Wild, in a small sample size, have trended towards doing “hockey deals” – trades that net them another NHL player. Ideally, Carolina would clear some cap space so they can be sure they can afford to give Sebastian Aho the long-term deal he deserves.
How about defenseman Justin Faulk? Obviously, he would have to agree to sign an extension to stay with the Wild for the trade to work. But with Jared Spurgeon‘s uncertain future in Minnesota, it’s a deal they might be willing to do.