(Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)
Some hockey fans might forget that Mats Zuccarello was a member of the 2019 Dallas Stars Playoff team. Even though his tenure in Dallas was short, Zuccarello’s impact in Dallas was a positive one.
Undrafted from Norway, Zuccarello began his NHL career with the Rangers in the 2010-11 season playing 42 games and recording 23 points (6G, 17A). Zuccarello played in 25 games the next two seasons.
In the 2013-14 season, Zuccarello broke out and became a fan favorite leading the Rangers with 59 points. Zuccarello also was tied for most assists on the team with 40. The Rangers reached the 2014 Stanley Cup before losing to the Kings in five games. Zuccarello recorded 13 points (5G, 8A) in the 2014 Playoffs.
The following season, the Rangers won the President’s Trophy with 113 points. Zuccarello was fifth on the Rangers with 49 points (15G, 34A). Zuccarello would only play in the first round of the 2015 Playoffs against the Penguins after suffering a fractured skull on a slap shot by Ryan McDonough in Game 5.
Zuccarello would record at least 50 points the next three seasons and was a member of the 2016 and 2017 Rangers Playoff teams. In the middle of his ninth season in the NHL, Zuccarello’s tenure would end with the Rangers.
On Feb. 23, 2019, the Rangers traded the 31-year-old to the Stars for a conditional second-round pick in 2019 and a conditional third-round pick in 2020. Zuccarello would play just two regular season games for the Stars following the trade, but recorded 3 points (1G, 2A).
In the 2019 Playoffs, Zuccarello was an important piece to the Stars roster as he was tied for the most points with 11 along with Tyler Seguin. Both he and Seguin each recorded 4 goals and 7 assists.
Zuccarello scored the game-winning goal in Game 1 of the 2019 first round against the Predators. In Game 4 against the Predators, Zuccarello scored the Stars’ fourth goal in part of a four-goal first period.
Against the Blues in the second round, Zuccarello recorded 7 points (1G, 6A); Zuccarello scored the lone Dallas goal in the 2-1 Game 7 double overtime loss in St. Louis.
Following the 2019 Playoffs, Zuccarello left Dallas and signed a five-year, $30 million contract with the Wild. In the 2021-22 season, Zuccarello recorded career highs in points with 79 and in assists with 55. However, Zuccarello has never won a Playoff series with the Wild in the first four years of making the Playoffs.
Prior to the start of this season, Zuccarello signed a two-year extension with the Wild. This season, the Wild missed the Playoffs for the first time since he joined in 2019. However, Zuccarello led the Wild with 51 assists.
Zuccarello will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season. Zuccarello needs two more goals for 200 in his career and needs to play in 165 games to reach 1,000.
(Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports)
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