Carolina Hurricanes: Should They Consider Mats Zuccarello?
As free agency quickly approaches, the Carolina Hurricanes will have plenty of decisions to make. We take a look at why Mats Zuccarello would be a fit in Raleigh.
Mats Zuccarello is a player that Carolina Hurricanes fans should be well aware of. In his career against Carolina, he has played 31 games and has totaled 29 points (7 goals and 22 assists). That is the most points and assists against any team in his career. So, with that being said, the Hurricanes know how dangerous he can be.
Zuccarello is an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He is a player that will most likely get a pay raise in free agency as he is expected to command somewhere around $5-6 million per year. However, the Hurricanes do have a decent amount of cap space to add the veteran forward.
The offense, although improved, could look to get stronger and that’s where adding someone like Zuccarello could help. Let’s look at three reasons why the Hurricanes should at least look into signing Mats Zuccarello.
Mats Zuccarello made an impact right off the bat with the Stars, making some clutch plays at the end of the season and in the playoffs.
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) June 14, 2019
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Speed
This is a part of Zuccarello’s game that can be a huge part of how the Hurricanes operate. The Hurricanes love to generate their offense by attacking on the forecheck. Speed helps on that regard by being able to chase down pucks in the zone as well as being able to hound defenseman to lose control of the puck. That being said, Rod Brind’Amour can put him in any line combination because he can help elevate his teammates production.
In addition to the forecheck, Zuccarello’s speed can lead to odd man rushes in the Hurricanes favor. He can help lead the odd man rush and with his skating and passing ability can help set up a shot for his teammate or bait the goalie into thinking pass. Zuccarello can put the puck into the net, but sometimes goalies expect things based on scouting reports and that’s where his knowledge for the game comes into play.
His speed can put him one step ahead of the goalie. Before the goalie has time to think or adjust to what Zuccarello is doing, he may have already beat him. This is something you see in high IQ players that have speed. Sebastian Aho uses his speed to burn defenders and have the goalie in desperation trying to match the speed. Zuccarello can do the same.
Zuccarello, for an example, is a way better version in what the Hurricanes had when Nathan Gerbe was on the roster. They play a similar game in which they use speed as their asset, but can also get physical despite their lack of size.
Playmaking Ability
Zuccarello is a dangerous passer and is easily his best asset in his offensive game. In 511 career games, he has 355 points with 241 of them being in the assist department. In each season since 2013, he only had less than 30 assists once and that was this last season because of missed time due to injury. He still had 28 assists in 48 games played.
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Zuccarello’s speed, as mentioned In the previous slide, enhances his ability to make plays. He can skate himself open allowing him to either create a passing lane or create a lane to the net in order to get a scoring chance.
Zuccarello isn’t afraid of getting to the dirty areas to score. He will get out in front of the net to help screen a goalie. He will go after rebounds left in front. He will get into board battles in order to gain possession. All of this can lead to putting the puck in the net and players that are willing to work for the result often get rewarded.
Putting all of this together makes Zuccarello a logical fit for the Hurricanes system. They can benefit from his speed and willingness to get to loose pucks.
Experience
The Carolina Hurricanes themselves got some much-needed experience in the post season with last season’s Eastern Conference Final appearance. So why not add more players that have a post season résumé.
In 73 career postseason games, Zuccarello has collected 42 points (15 goals and 27 assists). In the 2019 postseason for the Dallas Stars, he was a huge factor for them despite just coming back from a broken arm he suffered just two games after he was acquired. He had 11 points (4 goals and 7 assists) and showed his relentless playing style. He works into dirty areas, despite his size, and that is what is needed in the playoffs.
He has played on franchises that were successful. The Rangers when Zuccarello was there only missed the playoffs once, although he only played one postseason game in his first two years, the team was there. Only in 2017-18 did the Rangers miss the playoffs with Zuccarello playing in a game. He would have missed last year, but the Dallas Stars acquired him at the deadline for their playoff push. This means that he knows what it takes to get there and knows the grind of the playoffs as well.
This can be very beneficial to a team just getting back into the playoffs and fighting for more. Zuccarello, however, despite all this experience, has only been to the Stanley Cup Final once and lost it. So he could be looking for a team that could get him to the championship with the potential to win.
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Question for CC Readers: Do you think Mats Zuccarello would be worth looking at in free agency?