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NHL Rumors: Minnesota Wild expected to sign Mats Zuccarello

By Dave Stevenson

DALLAS, TX - MAY 5: Mats Zuccarello #36 of the Dallas Stars skates against the St. Louis Blues in Game Six of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center on May 5, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - MAY 5: Mats Zuccarello #36 of the Dallas Stars skates against the St. Louis Blues in Game Six of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center on May 5, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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According to the latest NHL rumors, Mats Zuccarello is expected to sign a five-year deal with the Minnesota Wild once free agency starts.

The Minnesota Wild have been retooling their roster since new general manager Paul Fenton took over last summer. They’ve already traded Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle, and Mikael Granlund. Fenton’s first major move in free agency will be a huge one. According to the latest NHL rumors, the Wild are expected to sign Mats Zuccarello to a five-year deal.

This report comes from Bob McKenzie. He’s reporting the deal should be for around $6 million a season as well. This is a bit surprising, so let’s take it easy and review what this means for the Wild. Because there’s a lot more to this than meets the eye.

Future Of The Wild

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The Wild aren’t rebuilding. Nope. Rebuilding teams do not give Zuccarello, a forward on the wrong end of 30 years old, a five-year deal. The Wild are looking to win sooner rather than later. That’s interesting because last season didn’t end well for them, as they didn’t make the postseason.

Zuccarello is a darn good player. He’s someone who might not be one of your best players, but what he does is he makes your best players better. However, with the Dallas Stars, though it was in a small sample size, Zuccarello showed hints of still being able to drive his own line.

If that’s the Zuccarello the Wild are getting, that’s very good for them. But this is where things get interesting. The Wild will still be a fairly young team as far as their forwards. If you include RFAs Kevin Fiala and Joel Eriksson-Ek, the Wild, with Zuccarello, would have four forwards over the age of 30.

So if you’re hoping for Minnesota to rebuild and restock their system with prospects, that’s not happening. At least not right now.

Zucker On The Move?

Should the Wild sign Zuccarello, I believe that increases the chances of Jason Zucker getting traded. It was already a formality, especially after Minnesota attempted to trade him twice but had it backfire each time.

But with Zuccarello signed, Zucker makes very little sense on the roster. Granted, he does have a no-trade clause that goes into effect after July 1. However, one can assume Zucker would be more than happy to accommodate a trade out of Minnesota. Especially since it’s been proven the Wild don’t want him around. Why else would you try to trade someone twice in less than six months?

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Verdict

Zuccarello is an odd fit with the Wild. This isn’t a player they should be interested in. It has nothing to do with Zuccarello – he’s a very good player. But I fail to see how he’s a fit with the Wild and what they should be trying to do right now.

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