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Zuccarello headed to Dallas, my take on the deal - updated
February 23, 2019, 8:11 PM ET [802 Comments]
Jan Levine
New York Rangers Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
Per Darren Dreger, Mats Zuccarello has been dealt to the Stars.




Official announcement:



The return, to me, is exceeding underwhelming. With Ryan Dzingel going for a second this year and one in 2020, how does Zuccarello, who is a proven playoff performer with a much better track record only net a second and third rounder? That's a horrible job by GM Jeff Gorton. He has Dallas, Calgary and likely Nashville at a minimum via for the Norwegian Hobbit's services and all he gets is a 2 and 3? Below are the conditions, so there is upside, but I would have preferred the prospect, such as Robertson or Hintz or Gurianov or Beyreuther, with the second rounder, especially seeing what Dzingel brought back. In addition, he waited until relatively recently to start negotiating with Zucc to see if he could bring him back on a long-term deal plus he failed to explore his trade market last deadline and/or over the summer.




Probability of Dallas winning two rounds, prior to the trade:



In the trade, New York is retaining 30% of his salary, This to me is another reason why the return should have been higher. Upside exists for one or two first rounders, the likelihood of each is remote, though Zucc re-signing in Dallas with no state tax may be the more likely scenario. However, maybe this was the highest offer on the table, then Gorton did the best he could and built in conditions that would be escalators to possible higher picks. Just find it odd that Ryan Dzingel, despite being five years younger, which to me matters little for a rental UFA, netted two seconds guaranteed and Zucc couldn't have brought that guaranteed return back. But maybe Gorton opted to swing for the fences and by picking up 30% of the remaining contact got Dallas to bite on the possibility of the picks rising if the conditions are met.




Zucc closes his Rangers career with the below numbers but that doesn't come close to describing his impact. He played bigger than his size and was a leader on and off the ice. I was one who wants him back when he left, now that he is gone, I hold out hope - as small as it be - that he returns this off-season.




Fare thee well Zucc:






Henrik Lundqvist says goodbye to Zucc:



Following the trade of Zucc, expected movement of Hayes, call up of Lias Andersson and return of Brett Howden in about a week, the Rangers' lines may be:

Kreider-Zibanejad-Vesey
Chytil-Andersson-Buchnevich
Namestnikov-Howden-Strome
Brickley-Nieves-Fast

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