New York Islanders Weekly Trade Rumor Wire (May 28th)

Jason Zucker

I feel bad for Jason Zucker. He wants to stay in Minnesota but the Wild don’t seem to want him. It’s now the second time that the Wild try to move Zucker this season, the first was at the trade deadline in February. A deal with Calgary failed to materialize then and so he stayed on the roster.

But since, the Wild have been shopping Zucker around. According to the Athletic’s Michael Russo, Wild GM Paul Fenton has shopped Zucker to a number of teams, to no success:

"Besides Pittsburgh, sources say at least some of the teams interested in Zucker include the Vancouver Canucks, Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks and, once again, the Flames. Fenton has at least inquired about Christian Dvorak and Christian Fischer in Arizona (the Coyotes don’t want to trade Dvorak), Sam Bennett and Michael Frolik in Calgary and Jonathan Marchessault in Vegas. Last June, Zucker’s name came up in trade talks with Toronto and Carolina, too."

At this point, Zucker has to want out. And that’s great for the Islanders.

Two weeks ago I wrote that the Isles could make the following trade offer for Zucker:

Two weeks later that trade offer still seems fine. After all, the Wild have shopped him around to at least five teams – maybe even seven – and all have said “no thanks”. Two younger players could be helpful to rejuvenate the Wild’s roster.

But maybe the Islanders can make a “hockey trade” with the Wild. Jason Zucker straight up for Nick Leddy?

The Wild already pretty well stocked with defenders, but perhaps getting Leddy opens them up to trade Jared Spurgeon who’s a year older than Leddy and who’s in the last year of his contract. Neither team would save any money on the cap this season, but it could help the Wild in a few years when Leddy’s deal expires.

If the Wild aren’t down with that trade I’m fine with going over the first one again.