Jason Zucker has moved around the lineup and battled injuries in his first full season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. But for the team to truly be labeled as Stanley Cup contenders, they need more out of one of their top wingers.
Jason Zucker is a great guy. He runs a charity with his wife Carly called Give16 and is a former King Clancy award winner for his humanitarian work. But the Penguins need him to do more on the ice. After returning from an injury that saw the winger miss 18 games, Zucker is struggling to produce offensively. Which is something the Penguins will need heading into the playoffs.
Zucker was acquired from the Minnesota Wild as the Penguins big trade piece in 2020. The deal was Zucker to the Pens in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk, prospect Calen Addison, and a 2020 first-round pick that was later changed to a 2021 first-round pick.
Given Zucker’s struggles this season, the consensus on this trade is that the Penguins may have given up a little too much.
Over a year later, who won the Zucker trade?#HockeyTwitter #LetsGoPens
— Owen Krepps (@OKrepps85) May 3, 2021
The Cold Hard Facts
The offense has simply not there for Zucker. 7 goals and 14 points through 34 games is equivalent to 33 points over an 82 game schedule. Zucker’s career-high in points came in 2017-18 where he surpassed 30 goals and tallied 64 points.
Zucker is battling, working hard, and even got in a fight the other night against Nick Merkley. But for a top-six winger on a contending team with centers such as Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, Zucker’s point totals have simply not been enough.
#LetsGoPens Jason Zucker and #NJDevils Nick Merkley drop the gloves after the Zucker hit on Studenic.
@ATTSportsNetPIT pic.twitter.com/pbR5uf4Z2c— Here's Your Replay (@HeresYourReplay) April 24, 2021
Zucker is a natural goal scorer and was brought into Pittsburgh to do just that. This season he owns an 11.8 shooting percentage and is shooting 1.74 shots per game which are both mediocre at best. His Corsi rating is only at 74.63 meaning that he is struggling on both sides of the puck.
“I’ve had a few discussions with him recently, just about simplifying his game and going hard to the net and being hard on pucks and things of that sort,” Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said in mid-April on Zucker’s play.
It is clear that Zucker is struggling this season. But why is this?
The Factors
First and foremost Zucker has played less than 50 games with the Penguins overall. He is still adjusting to a new system of play after spending almost a decade with the Wild. Zucker has also battled injury this season suffering a gruesome leg injury against the Capitals in mid-February which caused him to miss 18 games.
Zucker injury. pic.twitter.com/MWIrghYODi
— geoff (@geoffwithano) February 24, 2021
Zucker has also struggled to click well with any of the Penguins centers having played with several this season already. In a perfect world, Zucker would be playing in the top six with Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby. But this season Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust have occupied the Crosby line and Zucker has struggled with Malkin as both have been hurt.
Both Malkin and Zucker are pure goal scorers and like to have the puck on their stick as much as possible. Zucker is a rare player that can have more goals than assists in a season. But having two players fight over the puck on the same line is not a good idea. With the addition of Jeff Carter, it is possible that we could see Carter and Zucker form a third line together.
#Pens lineup at the skate…
Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
Zucker-Malkin-Kapanen
McCann-Carter-Gaudreau
ZAR-Blueger-SceviourDumoulin-Letang
Friedman-Ceci
Pettersson-Marino— Matt Vensel (@mattvensel) May 3, 2021
What do the Penguins do with him?
If the Penguins do not start to get some production from Zucker, he may find his way out of town already. The Seattle Kraken are patiently waiting to select their team on July 21st. The Penguins will have to leave one solid NHL forward unprotected at best. Could that player be Zucker, and could the Penguins lose him for nothing?
It is a tough situation to be put in for Jason Zucker. Coming over from a team you spend your whole life with, having a pandemic hit, and then suffering the first major injury of your career. Then, potentially being out the door yet again to play for an expansion team.
Personally, I am rooting for Zucker to find his footing with the Penguins. If he does not leave this offseason, he still has two years left on his deal at $5.5 million dollars. If the Penguins can get Zucker to produce at the 50-60 point pace he once did in Minnesota, he could prove to be a deadly weapon in the playoffs.
For more of my thoughts on Jason Zucker check out my YouTube channel here.
The post The Pittsburgh Penguins need more out of Jason Zucker appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Castle.
