NHL free agency 2019: Minnesota Wild overpay for Mats Zuccarello
The Minnesota Wild have signed winger Mats Zuccarello to a five-year deal worth $30 million in NHL free agency. That’s a step back for the Wild.
The Minnesota Wild continue to not understand where the league is going. Last season, they were in a three-way tie for the team with the oldest average age (28.7) with the LA Kings and the Vegas Golden Knights. That’s not changing, as they have signed winger Mats Zuccarello – who is 31 years old – to a five-year deal at $6 million a season.
Pierre LeBrun is reporting he has a full no-movement clause, as well as a no-trade clause in years four and five.
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A big goal the Wild had for the offseason was to get more scoring. Last season, they finished 27th in the league in goals per game. When you have a good goalie like Devan Dubnyk, it shouldn’t take that many goals to win a lot of games.
Bringing a few players with scoring touches could really make a huge difference for the Wild. However, Zuccarello has only scored 20+ goals once in his career and that was back in 2015-16.
He’s a fan favorite, but he’s not what the Wild need and he certainly isn’t worth $6 million a year until he’s 36 years old.
The last time the Wild made it past the first round was back in 2014-15. The difference in the styles of hockey then and now is night and day.
What the Wild need is young talent that can snipe. They need to adapt to the new NHL that is built on speed and quick transitions. Zuccarello, though he is a very good player, is not that.
Young wingers with plenty of upside are very easy to find in today’s NHL. They don’t cost much and can greatly improve your team’s offensive depth. Look at players like Tyler Ennis, who signed for a year with the Toronto Maple Leafs and scored 12 times on the fourth line. He was paid just $650,000. Ironically, he was bought out by the Wild.
Heck, the San Jose Sharks just resigned 22-year old winger Timo Meier and the contract is four years for $6 million dollars. He’s coming off a 30-goal season too.
Cheap wingers that can find the back of the net aren’t hard to find and they would be a fraction of the price of Zuccarello’s. It’s contract like this one and the Kevin Hayes for $7 million – where older, mediocre players get paid because of their name – that could become the reason the NHL enters another lockout.
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Minnesota needs to get younger and faster and they keep finding older players on the decline of their careers. As long as they continue to not ever change, this team will never find sustainable success.