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Buffalo Sabres Should Give Minnesota Wild LW Jason Zucker A Look

By Richard Spalding

Apr 22, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Minnesota Wild left wing Jason Zucker (16) skates against the Dallas Stars in game five of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center. The Wild defeat the Stars 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 22, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Minnesota Wild left wing Jason Zucker (16) skates against the Dallas Stars in game five of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center. The Wild defeat the Stars 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Could the Buffalo Sabres capitalize on the young forward’s disappointing 2015-16 effort and add a solid left winger to their squad?

As improved as the 2015-16 Buffalo Sabres were, it is pretty obvious to everyone that the Sabres are still a good 3-4 players away from being able to earn more than a moral victory when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin in 2017.

If the Sabres hold onto the 8th pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, the front office would be wise to pick up one of the talented left-handed defensemen that are available.  However, the Sabres will still gave to address its scoring deficiencies on the left wing, which might lead GM Tim Murray to consider trading for (or making an offer to) RFA Jason Zucker, currently playing for the Minnesota Wild.

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Zucker enjoyed a nice 21-5-26 effort in 51 games played with the Wild back in 2014-15, so naturally expectations were high for him heading into 2015-16.  Sadly for Zucker and the Wild organization, he failed to build on the success of his previous year, producing only 13-10-23 in 71 regular season games played, and chipping in only two assists in the Wild’s six-game playoff run.  Zucker will become a restricted free agent on July 1, and even though Minnesota’s front office will look to bring the 24 year-old Zucker back, the team will only do so if his salary expectations line up with the results he produced this season.

Even if Minnesota feels good about matching whatever offers Zucker gets on the market, there is a chance that Zucker might want to try his luck elsewhere.  After all, he was a healthy scratch four times last season, thanks to then-Wild head coach John Torchetti’s disappointment in Zucker’s two-way game.   Now that Bruce Boudreau, the man who infamously benched Alex Ovechkin for a similar reason, will be behind the glass for the Wild, Zucker could find himself in the doghouse pretty quickly.

This is not to say that I’m looking for a player who is lazy on the defensive side of the ice.  However, Zucker did suffer a concussion last season and was benched shortly afterwards, which probably did not help.  Besides, coaches and organizations often form an opinion about a player that is hard to shake, and Zucker could benefit from a change of scenery.  And what better place than in Buffalo with a head coach like Dan Bylsma, who is a developing-player’s dream.

Our friends over at Gone Puck Wild expressed a bit of cautious optimism about Zucker’s ability to turn things in the right direction:

"There’s no doubt that Zucker has the talent to rebound from last season, so it’s really up to him if he’s going to do the things this offseason and in training camp to get back to his 2014-15 season form."

Next: Sabres Draft Options: Pierre-Luc Dubois

The Minnesota Wild hold all the cards when it comes to Zucker, but it doesn’t seem like they are willing to over-pay him, so GM Tim Murray has a few options.  He can offer to make a deal that involves a few draft picks or a young player, in order to acquire Zucker’s rights, or he can simply make an offer to Zucker once the free agency period begins.  Zucker is a young player with a lot of potential, but due to his down year and the fact that he was benched more than once, he is not the sort of player who is going to attract a ton of attention.  It certainly doesn’t hurt the Buffalo Sabres to make a play that allows them to sign him to a two-year bridge deal.

Jason Zucker possesses tremendous speed and the tools to kill penalties and be a respectable defensive forward if he has the confidence or right mindset.  Playing in a new location, with a new coach and a few young studs like Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Evander Kane, and more could be the sort of thing that jump-starts Zucker’s career.  If not, he and the Sabres parts ways in two years once he becomes a UFA.   Either way, this is a low-risk, possibly high-gain scenario that could prove very beneficial to the Sabres should GMTM explore this possibility.

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