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Jason Zucker

#17 · Left wing · Buffalo Sabres

Born Jan 16, 1992 in Newport Beach, California, USA (age 34) · 5'11", 200 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 59th overall in 2010 by MIN (round 2)

Trophy case

King Clancy Memorial Trophy Leadership and Humanitarian Contribution 2018-19

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2020-21. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Tomas Nosek VGK · 18 P in 38 GP Colin White OTT · 18 P in 45 GP Owen Tippett FLA · 18 P in 45 GP Zach Parise MIN · 18 P in 45 GP Robby Fabbri DET · 18 P in 30 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

02040602011-12: 2 points211-122012-13: 5 points52013-14: 5 points513-142014-15: 26 points262015-16: 23 points2315-162016-17: 47 points472017-18: 64 points6417-182018-19: 42 points422019-20: 41 points4119-202020-21: 18 points182021-22: 17 points1721-222022-23: 48 points482023-24: 32 points3223-242024-25: 53 points532025-26: 45 points4525-26

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2011-12 MIN 6 0 2 2 -2 2 10 5 0.33 $772K
2012-13 MIN 20 4 1 5 4 8 34 11 0.25 $772K
2013-14 MIN 21 4 1 5 2 2 40 16 0.24 $772K
2014-15 MIN 51 21 5 26 -9 18 124 67 0.51 $900K
2015-16 MIN 71 13 10 23 -4 20 158 83 0.32 $900K
2016-17 MIN 79 22 25 47 34 30 172 73 0.59 $2M
2017-18 MIN 82 33 31 64 8 44 222 80 0.78 $2M
2018-19 MIN 81 21 21 42 -9 28 214 87 0.52 $5.5M
2019-20 MIN 45 14 15 29 -3 19 75 35 0.64 $5.5M
2019-20 PIT 15 6 6 12 -1 2 36 18 0.80
2020-21 PIT 38 9 9 18 -8 21 67 69 0.47 $5.5M
2021-22 PIT 41 8 9 17 -2 15 102 66 0.41 $5.5M
2022-23 PIT 78 27 21 48 -4 47 197 198 0.62 $5.5M
2023-24 ARI 51 9 16 25 -5 58 104 74 0.49 $5.3M
2023-24 NSH 18 5 2 7 -4 23 46 24 0.39
2024-25 BUF 73 21 32 53 4 57 143 68 0.73 $5M
2025-26 BUF 62 24 21 45 -5 23 128 57 0.73 $4.75M
15 seasons Career 832 241 227 468 -4 417 1872 1031 0.56

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2012-13 MIN 5 1 1 2 1 0 11 4 0.40
2014-15 MIN 10 2 1 3 -1 2 21 20 0.30
2015-16 MIN 6 0 2 2 -4 2 3 7 0.33
2016-17 MIN 5 1 0 1 -1 2 20 10 0.20
2017-18 MIN 5 0 0 0 -4 0 8 3 0.00
2019-20 PIT 4 2 0 2 0 0 12 8 0.50
2020-21 PIT 6 2 1 3 -1 2 12 22 0.50
2021-22 PIT 5 0 2 2 -3 2 9 23 0.40
2023-24 NSH 6 1 2 3 4 2 17 15 0.50
2025-26 BUF 13 2 2 4 -4 4 18 20 0.31
10 seasons Playoffs 65 11 11 22 -13 16 131 132 0.34

2020-21 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
38 9 9 18 -8 21 67 69 0.47 13.4 15:41

Contract

$5.5MCap hitends in 2023, then UFA
$306KCap dollars per point18 points in 38 games
$572KWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$4.9MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. He rated at or below a spare-part player, so there is no cost per goal to show. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 633 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Minnesota Wild on Jul 25, 2018, as a new contract: 5 years and $27.5M, beginning in 2018-19. It runs through 2022-23, with 2 seasons left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2018-19 $5.5M $5M $0 $5M
2019-20 $5.5M $6.25M $0 $6.25M M-NTC
2020-21 $5.5M $4.8M $0 $4.8M M-NTC
2021-22 $5.5M $6.25M $0 $6.25M M-NTC
2022-23 $5.5M $5.2M $0 $5.2M M-NTC

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Mar 7, 2025 Buffalo Sabres Extension 2025-26 to 2026-27 2 $9.5M $4.75M
Jul 1, 2024 Buffalo Sabres New contract 2024-25 to 2024-25 1 $5M $5M
Jul 1, 2023 Arizona Coyotes New contract 2023-24 to 2023-24 1 $5.3M $5.3M
Jul 25, 2018 Minnesota Wild New contract 2018-19 to 2022-23 5 $27.5M $5.5M
Jun 29, 2016 Minnesota Wild Extension 2016-17 to 2017-18 2 $4M $2M
Jul 15, 2014 Minnesota Wild New contract 2014-15 to 2015-16 2 $1.801M $900K
Mar 27, 2012 Minnesota Wild Entry-level 2011-12 to 2013-14 3 $2.5M $772K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2020-21 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2020-21 playoff analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

-0.3Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
-0.1Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-0.6Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence-0.3Even-strength defence-0.1Power play-0.1Penalty kill0.0Penalties-0.2

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. A playoff run is too short to rank anyone on. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-5051015202011-122013-142015-162017-182019-202021-222023-242025-26Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

54.5Corsi for %78 attempts for, 65 against
-5.5CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
47.6Expected goals for %2.9 expected for, 3.2 against
-11.6xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
52.4Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
44.4Goals for %4 for, 5 against
98.3PDO11.4% shooting + 86.8% saves
20Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

These are left plain: he has not been on the ice enough to be ranked. That takes at least 200 shot attempts with him out there, about six or seven games, and a quarter of what the busiest skater has. Over a game or two these numbers are mostly chance.

Who he played with

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Evgeni Malkin · Jason Zucker · Kasperi Kapanen450:3352.139.82-4
Jason Zucker · Frederick Gaudreau · Evan Rodrigues217:3750.061.01-0
Jeff Carter · Jason Zucker · Kasperi Kapanen34:0566.766.51-0
Evgeni Malkin · Jason Zucker · Frederick Gaudreau32:420.00.00-0

The lines he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's lines that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

2Goalsnot counting empty-netters
1.1Expected goalsfrom 17 unblocked attempts
+0.9Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.69 expected goals per 60 minutes31st
Shot quality 6.2% chance per attempt6th
Finishing +0.9 goals above expected73rdOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 78 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest in these playoffs.

00.511.52Goals 2Expected 1.1

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took in these playoffs, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
May 8, 2021 vs BUF W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 16:17
May 6, 2021 vs BUF W 8-4 0 2 2 0 2 3 1 14:47
May 4, 2021 @ PHI W 7-3 1 0 1 1 0 2 1 14:56
May 3, 2021 @ PHI L 2-7 1 0 1 -2 0 2 1 12:34
May 1, 2021 @ WSH W 3-0 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 15:48
Apr 29, 2021 @ WSH W 5-4 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 15:04
Apr 27, 2021 vs BOS L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 16:04
Apr 25, 2021 vs BOS W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 18:54
Apr 24, 2021 vs NJD W 4-2 0 1 1 1 5 6 2 13:39
Apr 22, 2021 vs NJD W 5-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 15:12
Apr 20, 2021 vs NJD W 7-6 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 14:54
Apr 18, 2021 @ BUF L 2-4 1 0 1 0 2 4 0 14:48
Apr 17, 2021 @ BUF W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 13:59
Apr 15, 2021 vs PHI L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 17:33
Apr 11, 2021 @ NJD W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13:27
Apr 9, 2021 @ NJD W 6-4 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 11:30
Apr 8, 2021 @ NYR W 5-2 1 1 2 0 2 1 1 14:35
Apr 6, 2021 @ NYR L 4-8 0 0 0 -2 0 2 2 15:46
Apr 3, 2021 @ BOS L 5-7 0 0 0 -1 0 4 4 18:09
Apr 1, 2021 @ BOS W 4-1 1 0 1 1 0 2 3 14:36
Mar 29, 2021 vs NYI W 2-1 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 13:04
Feb 23, 2021 @ WSH W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 0 3 0 14:03
Feb 20, 2021 vs NYI W 3-2 0 0 0 -2 2 2 3 16:42
Feb 18, 2021 vs NYI W 4-1 1 1 2 2 0 4 1 16:07
Feb 16, 2021 vs WSH L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 16:11
Feb 14, 2021 vs WSH W 6-3 0 0 0 -1 2 1 3 12:58
Feb 11, 2021 @ NYI W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 17:02
Feb 6, 2021 @ NYI L 3-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 18:31
Feb 1, 2021 @ NYR L 1-3 1 0 1 0 0 3 2 17:30
Jan 30, 2021 @ NYR W 5-4 (OT) 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 16:17
Jan 28, 2021 @ BOS L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 3 17:02
Jan 26, 2021 @ BOS L 2-3 (OT) 1 1 2 1 0 4 5 18:50
Jan 24, 2021 vs NYR W 3-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 5 15:30
Jan 22, 2021 vs NYR W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 1 2 0 2 17:49
Jan 19, 2021 vs WSH W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 15:25
Jan 17, 2021 vs WSH W 4-3 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 5 3 20:17
Jan 15, 2021 @ PHI L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 2 3 3 14:29
Jan 13, 2021 @ PHI L 3-6 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 15:49