Jason Zucker has scored 14 of his 192 career goals against the Nashville Predators — his most against a single opponent. But on March 13 in Winnipeg, he scored his first goal for them.
The Predators, who are currently riding an NHL-best 13-game point streak (11-0-2), had acquired Zucker just five days earlier in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes. The 32-year-old forward, who is on an expiring contract, was a low-risk, high-upside add for a Predators team in what general manager Barry Trotz called a "unique situation" — namely, a team looking to make a successful playoff run this season without mortgaging the team's future.
Originally drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the second round (59th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft, Zucker is a veteran of 682 career NHL games. He made his NHL debut with the Wild in 2011-12 and owns 364 career points (192 goals, 172 assists) with Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Arizona — and now, Nashville.
“It’s a hard spot for [Zucker and Beauvillier],” Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. “You come in and we play two games - and back-to-back afternoon games, to boot - and you’re not really accustomed to a lot of the things. But when they skate, they're very effective."
Changing teams midseason entails a learning curve, even for a player with six 20-goal seasons like Zucker. In his first two games with Nashville — a back-to-back road set against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild — Zucker found himself on the Predators' second line with Colton Sissons and fellow trade deadline pickup Anthony Beauvillier; he failed to find the scoresheet and accumulated a -2 rating in 28:16 of total ice time.
“It's a crash course, and you’ve got to do what you can,” Zucker said. “I'm hoping that I have it down in the next week or so, just to feel good going into the playoffs and down the stretch. I’m going to do everything I can on my part to make sure that I fill in the gaps with any questions I have, anything that isn't completely set in stone, and that I feel good about it.”
Brunette runs a challenging and unforgiving offensive system that prioritizes taking away space with aggression, turn opposing attacks into counterattacks and advancing the puck as quickly as possible at all times. He sets a high bar for his players, and Zucker is no exception.
"It’s tough," Brunette said. "It took a lot of our guys a lot of the year to kind of figure out what I was expecting and the pace I expect, the relentlessness I expect.”
Of course, Zucker does have an advantage — Brunette was with the Wild organization in various roles while Zucker was in his formative years in Minnesota, giving the coach some insight into the player and the person. Brunette was an assistant coach for two seasons beginning in 2014–15 and served as Minnesota's assistant general manager until the conclusion of the 2018–19 season.
“It's nice having some familiarity there,” Zucker said. “[Brunette] is a great guy. He taught me a lot when I was in Minnesota and when he was an assistant, just about the game, how to play the game and how to be a pro. There's a lot of little things that he taught me, so I have a lot to thank him for over the years. But now having him as head coach, his style of play I think suits my game really well. And I think that's an exciting thing for me.”
Zucker is not alone in the belief that his playing style is an ideal fit for the Predators' system.
“I felt that he's very competitive," Trotz said. "He’s got a good hockey IQ, he's driven, he brings a lot of life and he can play any kind of game that you want to. He fits the skill game. He has lots of skill to play that game, but when it gets dirty and nasty and into the trenches, he can do that as well. So that fits right into our game."
Trotz has expressed his desire to build a strong team culture under the leadership of "serial winners," and Zucker fits the bill — especially as he joins a team in the midst of a late postseason push. He has 46 games of Stanley Cup Playoffs experience, recording 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) across nine postseason series between Minnesota and Pittsburgh.
“I don't really make too many friends out on the ice,” Zucker said with a chuckle. “And I think that's a good thing to have down the stretch in these kinds of playoff-style games and then into the playoffs. So for me, I'm hoping to bring that to this team and show my worth.”
As well as he fits into what the Predators are doing on the ice, Zucker feels equally comfortable with his fit in Nashville's locker room.
“I love it,” he said. “It's a great group with a lot of great players. And I think overall, it's a group that you can tell has bonded really well over the year, and they're playing their best hockey of the season right now. So, it's fun to be a part of it, and I'm looking forward to the next couple weeks.”
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