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5 NHL teams that should trade for Jason Zucker

By Brad Berreman

SAINT PAUL, MN - JANUARY 22: Jason Zucker #16 of the Minnesota Wild celebrates after scoring a goal against the Detroit Red Wings during the game at the Xcel Energy Center on January 22, 2020 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAINT PAUL, MN - JANUARY 22: Jason Zucker #16 of the Minnesota Wild celebrates after scoring a goal against the Detroit Red Wings during the game at the Xcel Energy Center on January 22, 2020 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Mandatory Credit: Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images /

Arizona Coyotes

With ending a long playoff drought in mind, the Coyotes made an all-in move to get Taylor Hall from the New Jersey Devils back in December. The 2018 league MVP has been productive, with 16 points in 18 games for Arizona, but the Coyotes still sit just 23rd in the league in scoring (2.74 goals per game) entering play on Thursday. Their three highest-paid forwards, Phil Kessel (31 points in 53 games), Derek Stepan (eight goals) and Nick Schmaltz (eight goals), have underachieved.

The Coyotes have literally no room to add immediate salary ($316,292, per Cap Friendly), which is obviously a big hurdle to making any moves at the trade deadline even before taking into account what’s left of Zucker’s $5.5 million cap hit this year and the full brunt of it for three more years. They also don’t own their first or third-round picks in June’s draft, but they’d keep their first-rounder if lottery luck puts it in the top three overall. Center Carl Soderberg is on an expiring contract, which would typically make him a moveable piece, but he has a no-trade clause. Defenseman Alex Goligoski has one more year left on his deal after this one, but he also has a no-trade clause.

The Coyotes may have to settle for a bottom-tier forward in an attempt to add scoring punch. But if they can find a way to create some salary relief, and/or talk someone into waiving a no-trade clause, a move to get Zucker could very well follow.

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