Article: Mats Zuccarello Still Has It

[Phillip Garrett]

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[Citizen Strife]

Its incumbent on the team to find his replacement.  He's around for another year or so.  They can't expect him to keep this up forever.  The thing is he keeps proving doubters wrong for the time being.

[Willy the poor boy]

He is the 'Lizard King'...

[Pewterschmidt]

19 minutes ago, Willy the poor boy said:

He is the 'Lizard King'...

He can do anything

[MacGyver]

They showed the stats during the game last night of how many games with Kaprizov and without Kaprizov he has played this season. His numbers are nearly identical. I was quite surprised by that.

Speaking of Kaprizov I read Russo is saying he won't skate for another two weeks at least. This can't be just a sports hernia any longer it must be something more than that. If it's two weeks or more before he even starts to skate it's going to be a couple weeks after that before he joins the team I would think. By the time he gets to game speed it will be over. This whole thing with him is getting just weird. 

[Up North Guy]

1 hour ago, MacGyver said:

They showed the stats during the game last night of how many games with Kaprizov and without Kaprizov he has played this season. His numbers are nearly identical. I was quite surprised by that.

Speaking of Kaprizov I read Russo is saying he won't skate for another two weeks at least. This can't be just a sports hernia any longer it must be something more than that. If it's two weeks or more before he even starts to skate it's going to be a couple weeks after that before he joins the team I would think. By the time he gets to game speed it will be over. This whole thing with him is getting just weird. 

I heard them say on the PA show that they hope/think they may get him back for the last two regular games assuming he only needs a week of skating to get back up to speed.

[Sam]

The report I read said he was able to keep them..

[Pewterschmidt]

1 hour ago, Sam said:

The report I read said he was able to keep them..

In a Mason jar under the sink

[Thomas]

I wouldn't be surprised if he's signed to a another 2 year deal after his contract runs out next season. 2-3M a year maybe.

You've got to ask yourself who you'd rather have at 2-3M;
Zuccarello .....................(37yo (will be 39), 0.77ppg in 2024-2025 so far)
or
Trenin .............................at 3.5M (28yo (30), 0.22ppg in 24-25)
Gaudreau .......................at 2.1M (31yo (33), 0.45ppg in 24-25)
Johansson .....................at 2.0M (34yo (36), 0.42ppg in 24-25
(picked these because their current contracts are 2-3M)

Even if his production drops to 0.50 it'd be better than these...

[FredJohnson]

13 hours ago, Thomas said:

I wouldn't be surprised if he's signed to a another 2 year deal after his contract runs out next season. 2-3M a year maybe.

You've got to ask yourself who you'd rather have at 2-3M;
Zuccarello .....................(37yo (will be 39), 0.77ppg in 2024-2025 so far)
or
Trenin .............................at 3.5M (28yo (30), 0.22ppg in 24-25)
Gaudreau .......................at 2.1M (31yo (33), 0.45ppg in 24-25)
Johansson .....................at 2.0M (34yo (36), 0.42ppg in 24-25
(picked these because their current contracts are 2-3M)

Even if his production drops to 0.50 it'd be better than these...

Trenin…duh.

[MCHockey]

Thank you Mats for your contributions, but next year is your last year with the Minnesota Wild. With Kaprizov down and the team in cap hell, Zuccy has been forced to play way more minutes than he should (avg 19.34 a night). Next year with more depth I wonder if there's a way to shield him and get him top 6 shifts but lessen his total minutes to the 12-14 ranger. 

[MNCountryLife]

Nojo has played more like Mojo the last few weeks.  He has been playing with renewed vigor and effort.  Which makes me dislike him even more... as it means he has been playing at a fraction of his capability through the majority of the season.   Guys that do that I do not want on the team.  You never know when he will randomly decide to show up.

[Pewterschmidt]

1 hour ago, MNCountryLife said:

You never know when he will randomly decide to show up.

As you referred in your post, he shows up for the last 25 games of a contract year.

If bill re-signs this guy (even 1 yr @ $1M) it's worse than the Trenin signing, Brazo trade + the apathetic old core extensions all put together.  

[Forrest Gump Worsley]

On 3/15/2025 at 4:40 AM, Thomas said:

I wouldn't be surprised if he's signed to a another 2 year deal after his contract runs out next season. 2-3M a year maybe.

You've got to ask yourself who you'd rather have at 2-3M;
Zuccarello .....................(37yo (will be 39), 0.77ppg in 2024-2025 so far)
or
Trenin .............................at 3.5M (28yo (30), 0.22ppg in 24-25)
Gaudreau .......................at 2.1M (31yo (33), 0.45ppg in 24-25)
Johansson .....................at 2.0M (34yo (36), 0.42ppg in 24-25
(picked these because their current contracts are 2-3M)

Even if his production drops to 0.50 it'd be better than these...

The idea that you could make a fairly legit case that the Wild might actually come down to choosing between these options for a top 6 forward is a pretty solid data point for understanding how far away from a playoff run this roster is.

[Thatoneguy]

1 hour ago, Pewterschmidt said:

As you referred in your post, he shows up for the last 25 games of a contract year.

If bill re-signs this guy (even 1 yr @ $1M) it's worse than the Trenin signing, Brazo trade + the apathetic old core extensions all put together.  

Even if he pays the wild for a roster spot they should say no. 

[Protec]

Zuccy with the GWG tonight and NoJo with the lucky 150'er. 

I hope Guerin does move on from NoJo but Zuccy could get one more year and I'd be okay with it. He's been pretty durable and the nuts-injury he had wasn't really a sign of fragility. Looking at Brodin or Ek who have been hurt a bunch, Zuccy has had a pretty good year despite being without top linemates. 

[Thomas]

6 hours ago, Protec said:

Zuccy with the GWG tonight and NoJo with the lucky 150'er. 

I hope Guerin does move on from NoJo but Zuccy could get one more year and I'd be okay with it. He's been pretty durable and the nuts-injury he had wasn't really a sign of fragility. Looking at Brodin or Ek who have been hurt a bunch, Zuccy has had a pretty good year despite being without top linemates. 

Yeah, ruptured testicle, or cracked skull for that matter, isn't really a sign of fragility or being injury prone in my book. Just unlucky place to be at that time and could've happened to anyone. Even more unlucky both were friendly fire.

[Up North Guy]

17 hours ago, Protec said:

Zuccy with the GWG tonight and NoJo with the lucky 150'er. 

I hope Guerin does move on from NoJo but Zuccy could get one more year and I'd be okay with it. He's been pretty durable and the nuts-injury he had wasn't really a sign of fragility. Looking at Brodin or Ek who have been hurt a bunch, Zuccy has had a pretty good year despite being without top linemates. 

Isn't Zuccy under contract for one more year already?

[Thomas]

On 3/18/2025 at 8:42 PM, Up North Guy said:

Isn't Zuccy under contract for one more year already?

Yes
https://puckpedia.com/player/mats-zuccarello