New York Rangers: The Mats Zuccarello trade just got worse

The New York Rangers got a decent return for fan favorite Mats Zuccarello.  By the end of his first game as a Dallas Star he was injured and the trade suddenly looks much worse for both teams.

Mats Zuccarello had a great start in Dallas with a goal and an assist.   Dallas Stars fans were seeing the Zuccarello  who had been an indispensable part of the New York Rangers for nine years.

Then, he blocked a shot with his arm and was out of the game with a prognosis that he would miss about four weeks.

The Deal

The Stars acquired Zuccarello for a second round pick in 2019 and a third round pick in 2020.  Both picks are conditional and this is where Jeff Gorton got high marks from hockey insiders.  The 2020 third rounder becomes  first round pick if Zuccarello chooses to re-sign with Dallas.

The  2019 second round pick becomes a first round pick if the Stars make it to the Western Conference Finals this spring. When the deal was announced the reaction was that the Rangers had a good shot of walking away with two first rounders.  Not any more.

Looking at the 2020 draft pick, Gorton must have some idea that Dallas will either make a strong effort to sign Zuccarello before the end of this season or after the season is over.  Gorton also must have had some intelligence from Zuccarello’s agent about where the Norwegian wanted to end up as a free agent.  Dallas must surely be one of his favored destinations.  While nothing is guaranteed, Gorton has to believe that there is a good chance that the third rounder will be converted.

The 2019 second round pick is the one that was most affected by the injury.  In fielding offers for Zuccarello, Gorton had to take into account what his expectations were for the success of team he was dealing with.  He had to be confident that the Dallas Stars with Zuccarello and Ben Loveyjoy, would be able to survive a weak Central Division playoff and make it to the Conference Finals.

It’s not hard to believe that the Stars (with Zuccarello) could finish the season as high as second or third place in the Central and avoid a first round match up with Winnipeg or Calgary.  Dallas matches up well with Nashville and St. Louis.  At the time of the trade, all signs were that the Conference Finals were achievable.

But all of that came  crashing down when Zuccarello broke his arm.  Unless Jim Nill can pull the trigger on another deal before the deadline, it looks like Dallas will be battling for a wild card berth.

We will have to see what other steps Dallas will take to bolster their roster.  It’s just unfortunate that an injury like this  had to derail Zuccarello’s season after such a great start and put a damper on what had been seen a very positive transaction.