The Pittsburgh Penguins have pulled the trigger in trading for Jason Zucker. For Alex Galchenyuk, Calen Addison, and a 2020 first-round pick, the Penguins acquire forward Jason Zucker from the Minnesota Wild. With the trade deadline not that far away, many were wondering when GM Jim Rutherford would pull the trigger.
In this deal, the Penguins offload a sub-par performer in Galchenyuk, and quite possibly found injured forward Jake Guentzel’s replacement for the season. Zucker, on a struggling Wild team, managed 29 points on the season with 14 goals on 15 assists. The great news for Penguins fans is Zucker isn’t a rental wingerl his contract carries him through for three more years.
This trade tells me that the Penguins and, more specifically, Jim Rutherford are in win-now mode. The only question now is, have the Penguins made the necessary moves to win their sixth Stanley Cup in franchise history?
Image Credit: Brace Hemnelgam/USA Today
