The Minnesota Wild lost another key player in the opening hours of free agency when Mats Zuccarello signed with the Los Angeles Kings. Zuccarello’s decision to leave seemed imminent as the Wild have been focused on acquiring Dylan Larkin in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings, but nobody knew how bad things got until Zuccarello’s contract was revealed.
According to The Athletic’s Chris Johnston, Zuccarello agreed to a one-year deal with a base salary of $1 million. While he can make more in incentives, it also shows how badly the Wild wanted to move on and how close they may be to a different style of play entering next season.
The Wild broke up with Mats Zuccarello compared to the other way around
Losing Zuccarello hurts the Wild as they revamp their top six forwards. Between Zuccarello, Marcus Johansson and Vladimir Tarasenko, the Wild could lose up to 150 points from last year’s team during free agency. That would include Zuccarello’s 54 points from last season and clear out a spot on the top line.
While his friendship with Kirill Kaprizov also was a reason to bring him back, the Wild seemed to believe that it may have been a hindrance on Kaprizov’s play. The Athletic’s Michael Russo wrote that the Wild were frustrated with Zuccarello’s tendency to “drag” Kaprizov into an “east-west game” and while Zuccarello assisted on 102 of Kaprizov’s 230 career goals, the chance to get an extra gear out of him outweighed the team-friendly deal that he wound up signing with the Kings.
The contract is the thing that should raise the most eyebrows. With just $6.6 million in cap space and the potential to bring Larkin’s $8.7 million contract into those plans, the Wild will need to use whatever money they can come up with to fill their top-six roles. Getting Zuccarello for $1 million with incentives could have been another bargain that general manager Bill Guerin has been famous for during his time in Minnesota, but it’s clear the Wild have a better plan in mind.
Part of that plan could be to pursue Anders Lee, who plays a gritter style in front of the net and finished with 19 goals and 42 points while playing all 82 games last season. The Wild have also been linked to a potential trade for Owen Tippett, who would also be a power forward that would push more of the action toward the goal.
With Zuccarello approaching his age-39 season, it may have been another reason to move on. But the Wild need to have a better plan after letting another productive winger walk out the door for nothing.
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