NHL Trade Rumors: Top 6 trade candidates following NHL draft

2. Jason Zucker

Age: 27
Position: LW
Team: Minnesota Wild

As the NHL’s most recent recipient of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy — an award given to the player who best exhibits qualities of leadership on and off the ice, along with an ability to make a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to his individual community — Jason Zucker is one of the few bright spots on a Wild organization caught in the doldrums. It is all the more puzzling, then, that the 27-year-old is widely regarded as someone who shall almost definitely be traded at some point in the offseason.

Now at the receiving end of two failed moves — the first of which imploded near the final moments of deadline day, while the second was botched just a few weeks back — there is little doubt that the left winger all but aches for some degree of resolution going forward. A brief look at his wife’s Twitter feed translates thoughts of this variety into a reality.

In other words, this is not going well.

Numerous clubs have inquired about Zucker’s availability, with Elliotte Friedman reporting that rumors enveloped the draft every ten minutes or so. As he put it, “Arizona, Edmonton, Toronto, Washington…you name it.” Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Vancouver have also been in the mix.

Expect some measure of clarity in the not-so-distant future. Zucker’s name has occupied the talk circuit of the hockey world for far too long — and for far too many unfavorable reasons, especially in light of what the player has to offer in both on-ice and off-ice settings.