Jason Zucker Traded to Pittsburgh for Haul That Includes 1st Round Pick and Top Prospect

MIN trades Jason Zucker to PIT for Galchenyuk, 2020 first-round pick and Calen Addison.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 11, 2020

Jason Zucker has finally been traded….

And Billy Guerin got a haul, in return. The Penguins are good again this year (34-15-5) so their 2020 1st round pick will be near the bottom of the round. However, another 1st round pick is gold, when looking at draft capital and what it takes to move around or get better, quickly.

If somehow the Penguins miss the playoffs, the pick is protected and they could decide whether to let Minnesota have the lottery pick for 2020, or push the pick off to 2021.

The Wild also got, who many think, is the Penguins best future prospect, with 19-yr-old, Calen Addison. HockeyWriters.com has him as the #79 overall prospect in the NHL.

The current WHL defenseman has been dominant in 2019-20, putting up 43 total points (33 AST, 10 G) for the Lethbridge Hurricanes, again…. AS A DEFENSEMAN.

#79 Prospect in NHL (HockeyWriters)

Calen Addison could very well be a top-four defender for the Penguins in a few years. He’s a great skater and a solid playmaker. He’s a couple of years away, but the 2018 second-round pick shows a great deal of promise. There seems to be no question that the young player will be a future power play quarterback.

HockeyWriters.com

Alex Galchenyuk‘s deal is expiring after the season so he was likely just filler, to make this deal work. He’s a 25-year-old center, who was just traded to Pittsburgh, from Arizona, last season.

The Wild don’t retain any of Zucker’s salary in this deal. What a first big move by Billy….

Galchenyuk is UFA at end of season, so this is largely about the first-rounder and prospect. No salary retained. Zucker has 3 years left at 5.5M

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) February 11, 2020

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan