Well that was quick.
Literally moments after the Dallas Stars were shutout on home ice against the Carolina Hurricanes, they traded for some forward help. In exchange for a 2nd and 3rd round pick, the Stars acquired New York Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello. Both picks are reportedly conditional. The 2nd round pick is a 2019 conditional that becomes a first rounder if the Stars win two playoff rounds round this season. The 3rd round pick is a 2020 conditional that becomes a first if Zuccarello re-signs with Dallas this offseason.
The 5’8” forward has played in 46 games for the Rangers this season, recording 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points. He automatically slots in as the 4th highest points getter on the Stars roster behind Tyler Seguin, Alexander Radulov, and Jamie Benn.
Zuccarello is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The 31-year-old forward currently has a $4.5 million cap hit according to CapFriendly. He’ll likely slot into the top six for Dallas and should give them some proven secondary scoring. He also has a creativity to his game that the Stars forward corps is lacking, and he plays with good speed.
What’s most interesting in this trade, though, is what the Stars didn’t give up. Namely, any of their prospect pool. General manager Jim Nill still has some assets to wheel and deal to upgrade the roster.
We’ll post more moves as they come. Keep an eye always turned to the Twittersphere for breaking news.