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  • Mats Zuccarello's Old Guy Magic Might Not Slow Down Soon


    Image courtesy of Stephen R. Sylvanie - Imagn Images
    Tony Abbott

    I'm done. As Mats Zuccarello has pushed later and later into his 30s, I've been wondering when the moment Father Time claims his victory over the seemingly ageless Norwegian wonder. It's gotta happen sometime, right?!

    Nope. Or at least, not last year. Zuccarello turned 37 last September, and while many of his fellow NHL Old Guys have been bounced from the league entirely by that age, "The Lizard of Oslo" stayed productive. Through 69 games last season, he scored 19 goals (tied for the fourth-most of his career) and 54 points (his seventh-most). Sure, he missed 13 games, but that injury was... let's say "atypical."

    You can't even credit Kirill Kaprizov for keeping him afloat last year, either. Not really. Zuccarello played only 44% of his power play minutes with Kaprizov, as well as less than a third of his 5-on-5 minutes. During his 40 games played without his usual running mate in the lineup, Zuccarello still mustered 10 goals and 27 points.

    Is the shoe gonna drop at age-38? I'm tired of forecasting it. Until proven otherwise, I've got to give Zuccarello the benefit of the doubt. Over the past half-decade, he's had as much staying power as almost any Old Guy we've seen during the Post-Lockout Era.

    Over the last 20 years, we've seen 68 forwards log 300 or more games between ages-33 and 37. Here's how the top-10 stacks up in terms of points per game:

    1. Sidney Crosby, 1.15
    2. Daniel Alfredsson, 1.14
    3. Martin St. Louis, 1.10
    4. Alex Ovechkin, 1.06
    5. Patrice Bergeron, 0.92
    6. MATS ZUCCARELLO, 0.91
    7. Ray Whitney, 0.92
    8. Anze Kopitar, 0.86
    9. Joe Thornton, 0.85
    10. Patrik Elias/Jarome Iginla, 0.83

    That's an absurd list to be on. Crosby, St. Louis, Ovechkin, Bergeron, Kopitar, Thornton, and Iginla are all either already in the Hall of Fame or locks to get there. Alfredsson and Elias are also borderline Hall guys. And here's Zuccarello, producing much bigger numbers in his mid-30s than he ever had before.

    There isn't much reason to think he can't do it again, except "Old." Zuccarello may continue to play most of his even-strength minutes without Kaprizov. With Matt Boldy, Vladimir Tarasenko, and even Danila Yurov in the mix next season, the Wild's superstar won't lack for options on the wing. Even so, his spot on Minnesota's top power play unit is almost assured, and his ability to not just distribute, but find Kaprizov, specifically, with space, is likely to help keep his numbers up.

    His work on the man advantage is a safety net, but let's not forget that he also showed significant chops when it came to driving offense at 5-on-5 last season. Zuccarello was one of just seven Wild forwards to have an on-ice goals-for percentage above 50% (51.3%), and Minnesota scored 2.62 goals per hour with Zuccarello on the ice at 5-on-5 last year. The only players to see better results were Kaprizov (3.18 per hour) and Marco Rossi (2.77).

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    Minnesota's added depth is another reason for optimism. The Wild acquired Tarasenko, which could mean that John Hynes won't feel like he has to load up his top line with Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Joel Eriksson Ek. That'd be a perfect scenario for Zuccarello to continue exploiting the chemistry he has with Kaprizov and formed with Rossi at the start of last season. But even if Boldy gets the nod with Kaprizov on the top line, Zuccarello's options down the lineup are much better than in the past.

    Last season, if Zuccarello wasn't with Kaprizov or Boldy, his next-best alternative was Marcus Johansson. Now, it's Tarasenko. Sure, you can point to Tarasenko's stat line (11 goals, 33 points) being nearly identical to Johansson's (11 goals, 34 points). Still, Tarasenko was much better at creating dangerous scoring chances than Johansson last season. Even an old version of Tarasenko is likely to have retained more scoring talent than Johansson.

    And if Tarasenko doesn't work out? No sweat, Yurov or Liam Öhgren are there to take a spot on the wing if needed, and both have the talent to be productive goal-scorers. That's three viable options to line up opposite Zuccarello before we have to start considering someone like Johansson in that spot, and that's good news for Zuccarello's quest to keep it going at age-38.

    Banking on a 38-year-old to remain not just productive, but one of the better point-producers in recent Old Guy memory, is a decent way to look silly down the road. But look, Zuccarello has been spitting in the face of Father Time for this long without a downfall. Until further notice, I can't bet against him keeping a good chunk of his production going for the 2025-26 season.

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    12 hours ago, 1Brotherbill said:

    Let's say he plays about equal to what he has played in the past few years.  This would be his last year in Minnesota. I seriously doubt he makes it past the trade deadline.  Right now he would be slotted for the third line.  I know people will say he plays top six.  I don't think you can say he will be better than Ohgren and Yurov.  If they keep Rossi that means the third line would be Rossi with Zucarello, not an impressive line.  Though I think they could out work a lot of third lines in the league and probably score quite a bit.  Right now with Ohgren and Yurov playing well you have, Ek, Kirill, Boldy, and Taresenko in the top six.  

    Zucarello has said this is probably his last year.  He doesn't want to hang around past his effective use date. 

    If Yurov and Ohgren play so well as to relegate Rossi and Zucc to the third line, that would mean they are putting up close to 60 points each and that would be amazing for the Wild and probably have them in the running for the Presidents.   Cup.  I hope they play that well this year.  Realistically, I am assuming that they start on the third and fourth lines this year and will have to show a ton to get moved up.  I still believe that Hynes will try and split the lines up a bit and go with the following to start the season.

    Kap, Ek, Zucc

    Boldy, Rossi, Tarasenko

    Foligno, Yurov, Hartman

    Ohgren, Sturm, Trenin

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    8 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

    Assuming this is correct, what would a Zuccy $800k contract look like playing in a role like what we assume Johansson will be given this year? 13th forward.

    That could be some really good depth, but also the time off would keep him fresh.

    It's a great way to bring back a skilled aging veteran that wants to stay in the game.  They get to play a dozen games and can contribute valuable time.  While I don't believe Johansson is a full time top 6 forward he is definitely a nice 13th man that can play top 6 for some games and be responsible on D as well.  Let's hope Hynes plays him that way.

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    37 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

    If we could keep it civil, I think the conversations can be fruitful, but the risk of it going south is far too much for the site to take.

    As a wise person in this community stated already, the internet offers an endless cesspool of places to have these culture war slap fights.  Keeping guardrails on this community so that it stays Wild/hockey related is what keeps this place special.

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    3 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

    As a wise person in this community stated already, the internet offers an endless cesspool of places to have these culture war slap fights.  Keeping guardrails on this community so that it stays Wild/hockey related is what keeps this place special.

    Trust me, I love that part. 

    But, Wild/hockey related occasionally interacts with newsy items. And in those cases, this is what I was referencing. We do not need a political division of the site. 

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    17 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

    Wild/hockey related occasionally interacts with newsy items.

    This slope is too slippery as we've have learned time and again.  A good example you'd cite is tax loopholes/credits for an arena re-model which undoubtedly spirals into a blue vs red debate and the members who cannot help but get triggered come off the rails.  I choose to not engage in this debate as it's not interesting to me, and there's an endless amount of this slap fighting (if you're interested) on any comment section anywhere else on the internet.  this conversation always ends the same way, so let's just not start it.  I'm much more interested in discussing Nojo's irrelevance or our prospect pools can't miss status.

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    7 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

    I'll guess ODC just takes the summer off and is back when season starts.  Another great hockey mind with lots of opinions which is what makes the site fun.

    i think ODC will be back as soon AAS KK97 resigns or refuses to sign.

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    7 hours ago, SkolWild73 said:

    Kap, Ek, Zucc

    Boldy, Rossi, Tarasenko

    Foligno, Yurov, Hartman

    Ohgren, Sturm, Trenin

    I kind of like that lineup but I would swap Ohgren and Hartman, at least until Ohgren proves he can't play at that level. Hartman could be moved up and down the lineup without missing a beat.

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    9 hours ago, SkolWild73 said:

    Kap, Ek, Zucc

    Boldy, Rossi, Tarasenko

    Foligno, Yurov, Hartman

    Ohgren, Sturm, Trenin

    I would think Tarasenko would play with Kaprizov at the minimum and if Yurov shows he is any good I would imagine that an all Russian line would be pretty strong.  That is a drug every coach in the NHL can not shy away from.  St. Louis did it often when they won their cup. 

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