The Nashville Predators have acquired veteran forward Jason Zucker from the Arizona Coyotes, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. For trade-related reasons, Zucker and defenseman Matt Dumba were scratched in Arizona’s Thursday night game. The Coyotes will receive a sixth-round pick in return, per The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. The deal notably comes with no salary retention.
Zucker is in his first year with the Coyotes, signing a one-year, $5.3M contract with the team on July 1. He’s since had a modest year, scoring nine goals and 25 points in 51 games — a step down from the 27 goals and 48 points he managed in 78 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last year. He’ll now change hands again, joining the fourth team of his career in Nashville. While his high scoring last season seemingly came out of nowhere, with Zucker failing to reach 20 points in the two seasons prior, his performances in Arizona have shown he can still bring a punch to the depths of a lineup, even in year 13.
Zucker joins Anthony Beauvillier as Nashville’s newest addition — with both players likely to round out the team’s third line, filling the hole left by Yakov Trenin, who was traded to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. The Predators also acquired flexible forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan off of waivers from the Los Angeles Kings. The new pieces will help Nashville round out a bottom-six that features just three players who have crested 20 points this season. Their presence likely forces Mark Jankowski out of the lineup, while Kiefer Sherwood and Cole Smith will now have to compete for their roles.
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