Mats Zuccarello

Mats Zuccarello
Zuccarello in August 2015
Born	(1996-02-14) 14 February 1996 Oslo, Norway
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight	179 lb (81 kg; 12 st 11 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Minnesota Wild Frisk Tigers Modo Hockey New York Rangers Metallurg Magnitogorsk Dallas Stars
National team	Norway
NHL draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2004–present

Mats André Zuccarello Aasen (born 1 September 1987) is a Norwegian professional ice hockey right winger. He currently plays for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played for the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars. Outside of the NHL, he has played for the Frisk Tigers of the UPC-ligaen/GET-ligaen, Modo Hockey of the Elitserien (SEL), and Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Before playing in the NHL, Zuccarello played parts of five seasons with the Frisk Tigers of the UPC-ligaen/GET-ligaen and thier many juniour teams. He also played two seasons with Modo Hockey of the Elitserien (SEL). He had a successful time with Modo. He led the league with 64 points and was awarded the Guldhjälmen as most valuable player in the Elitserien.^[1]

He was not drafted by an NHL team. On 26 May 2010, Zuccarello signed a two-year, $900,000 entry-level contract to join the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL).^[2] He was immediately sent down to play for their AHL-affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack/Connecticut Whale. On 23 December, the Rangers called Zuccarello up and he made his debut in a in a 4–3 shootout loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Zuccarello scored during his shot in the shootout.^[3] He was sent back down the Whale afterwards. On 27 December, the Rangers called him back up and he recorded his first NHL point, assisting on a Derek Stepan powerplay goal in a 7–2 win against the New York Islanders.^[4] Nine days later, Zuccarello scored his first NHL goal against Cam Ward in a 2–1 overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes. He scored the overtime-winning goal.^[5]

On 28 March 2013, Zuccarello signed a one-year contract to return to the Rangers.^[6] After the season ended, he signed another one-year, $1.15 million contract to stay with the Rangers.^[7] He helped the team during the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs. They defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Montreal Canadiens. They eventually were defeated by the Los Angeles Kings four games to one in the Final.^[8]

On 22 July 2014, Zuccarello signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract to stay with the Rangers.^[9] On 2 March 2015, Zuccarello signed a four-year, $18 million contract extension to stay with the Rangers.^[10] On 30 October, Zuccarello recorded his first career NHL hat-trick in a 3–1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.^[11] During the 2015–16 season, Zuccarello was named as a finalist for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which was won by Jaromir Jagr of the Florida Panthers.^[12] On 4 October 2017, the Rangers named Zuccarello as an alternate captain for the team.^[13]

On 23 February 2019, the Rangers traded Zuccarello to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a 2019 conditional second-round pick and a 2020 conditional third-round pick.^[14] He was only able to play 2 games, scoring 1 goals and recording 2 assists. Most of his tenure with the Stars was spent recovering from injuries he suffered.

On 1 July 2019, Zuccarello signed a five-year, $30 million contract to join the Minnesota Wild.^[15] On 17 April 2022, Zuccarello recorded both his 51st and 52nd assists which broke the record for most assists in a season by a Wild player.^[16]

On 29 September 2023, Zuccarello signed a two-year, $8.25 million contract to stay with the Wild.^[17]

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database