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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 2017-18. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Teuvo Teravainen CAR · 64 P in 82 GP Yanni Gourde TBL · 64 P in 82 GP Sean Monahan CGY · 64 P in 74 GP Filip Forsberg NSH · 64 P in 67 GP Jack Eichel BUF · 64 P in 67 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

2017-18 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
82 33 31 64 8 44 222 80 0.78 14.9 16:58

Contract

$2MCap hitends in 2018
$31KCap dollars per point64 points in 82 games
$129KCap dollars per goal above replacement15.5 goals above replacement
$10.5MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$8.5MValueworth 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. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 691 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Minnesota Wild on Jun 29, 2016, as an extension of the contract he was on: 2 years and $4M, beginning in 2016-17. It runs through 2017-18, so this is its last season.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2016-17 $2M $2M $0 $2M
2017-18 $2M $2M $0 $2M

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 2017-18 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.

2017-18 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+15.5Goals above replacement8th of 691 skaters, 7th of 451 forwards
+2.6Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+11.6Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 451 ranked forwards: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence+7.2 96th percentileEven-strength defence+3.0 94th percentilePower play+1.0 88th percentilePenalty kill+0.6 96th percentilePenalties-0.2 31st percentile

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, and the rank beside it is among forwards. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. 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

49.9Corsi for %1081 attempts for, 1087 against
+3.8CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
59.3Expected goals for %52.2 expected for, 35.9 against
+8.6xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
51.1Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
57.3Goals for %55 for, 41 against
101.4PDO8.7% shooting + 92.7% saves
261Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 600 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Mikko Koivu · Jason Zucker · Mikael Granlund53407:4750.264.816-12
Eric Staal · Jason Zucker · Nino Niederreiter27185:3655.061.611-3
Eric Staal · Jason Zucker · Mikael Granlund34149:0653.263.910-7
Eric Staal · Jason Zucker · Charlie Coyle2936:3057.465.13-0

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.

29Goalsnot counting empty-netters
25.0Expected goalsfrom 278 unblocked attempts
+4.0Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 1.08 expected goals per 60 minutes93rd
Shot quality 9.0% chance per attempt87th
Finishing +4.0 goals above expected84thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 423 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

01020Game 20Game 40Game 60Game 80Goals 29Expected 25.0

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 this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 7, 2018 @ SJS W 6-3 2 0 2 0 0 5 3 15:20
Apr 5, 2018 @ LAK L 4-5 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 4 3 15:30
Apr 4, 2018 @ ANA L 1-3 0 1 1 -1 2 1 0 14:47
Apr 2, 2018 vs EDM W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 17:16
Mar 31, 2018 @ DAL L 1-4 0 0 0 -3 0 3 1 16:56
Mar 29, 2018 vs DAL W 5-2 1 1 2 0 0 5 1 16:07
Mar 27, 2018 @ NSH L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 17:41
Mar 25, 2018 vs BOS L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 17:10
Mar 24, 2018 vs NSH W 4-1 1 1 2 1 0 4 0 15:55
Mar 19, 2018 vs LAK L 3-4 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 16:53
Mar 17, 2018 @ ARI W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 17:44
Mar 16, 2018 @ VGK W 4-2 1 1 2 0 0 3 2 20:15
Mar 13, 2018 vs COL L 1-5 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 13:44
Mar 10, 2018 @ EDM L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 7 1 19:10
Mar 9, 2018 @ VAN W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 17:07
Mar 6, 2018 vs CAR W 6-2 0 1 1 1 4 2 0 17:00
Mar 4, 2018 vs DET W 4-1 2 0 2 2 2 4 1 18:07
Mar 2, 2018 @ COL L 1-7 0 0 0 -2 0 2 0 17:03
Mar 1, 2018 @ ARI L 3-5 0 0 0 -2 0 2 0 19:52
Feb 27, 2018 vs STL W 8-3 1 4 5 4 0 4 0 12:59
Feb 25, 2018 vs SJS W 3-2 (OT) 0 2 2 1 0 4 1 19:21
Feb 23, 2018 @ NYR W 4-1 0 1 1 2 0 2 0 15:11
Feb 22, 2018 @ NJD W 4-2 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 15:15
Feb 19, 2018 @ NYI W 5-3 2 0 2 2 0 3 0 15:20
Feb 17, 2018 vs ANA L 2-3 (SO) 1 0 1 2 0 3 2 18:57
Feb 15, 2018 vs WSH L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 3 0 14:57
Feb 13, 2018 vs NYR W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 15:06
Feb 10, 2018 vs CHI W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 16:39
Feb 8, 2018 vs ARI L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -3 0 3 0 14:39
Feb 6, 2018 @ STL W 6-2 1 1 2 2 2 2 0 14:47
Feb 3, 2018 @ DAL L 1-6 1 0 1 0 2 3 2 13:39
Feb 2, 2018 vs VGK W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 16:18
Jan 30, 2018 @ CBJ W 3-2 (SO) 1 0 1 0 2 4 1 16:31
Jan 25, 2018 @ PIT L 3-6 0 1 1 -1 2 3 0 16:37
Jan 22, 2018 vs OTT W 3-1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 15:48
Jan 20, 2018 vs TBL W 5-2 1 0 1 1 0 4 1 19:31
Jan 14, 2018 vs VAN L 2-3 (OT) 1 0 1 -1 0 3 3 19:04
Jan 13, 2018 vs WPG W 4-1 1 0 1 1 0 5 0 16:26
Jan 10, 2018 @ CHI W 2-1 0 1 1 1 0 3 1 16:33
Jan 9, 2018 vs CGY L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 3 2 19:20
Jan 6, 2018 @ COL L 2-7 0 2 2 0 2 1 0 15:57
Jan 4, 2018 vs BUF W 6-2 0 0 0 -2 2 2 0 16:43
Jan 2, 2018 vs FLA W 5-1 0 1 1 2 0 5 0 14:10
Dec 30, 2017 @ NSH L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 16:34
Dec 29, 2017 vs NSH W 4-2 0 0 0 1 0 4 1 18:14
Dec 27, 2017 vs DAL W 4-2 1 1 2 0 2 3 0 15:46
Dec 23, 2017 @ TBL L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 13:50
Dec 22, 2017 @ FLA L 2-4 0 0 0 -2 0 5 0 20:37
Dec 19, 2017 @ OTT W 6-4 0 0 0 1 2 4 2 16:42
Dec 17, 2017 @ CHI L 1-4 0 0 0 -2 2 3 6 15:55
Dec 16, 2017 vs EDM L 2-3 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 13:33
Dec 14, 2017 vs TOR W 2-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 15:40
Dec 12, 2017 vs CGY W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 18:26
Dec 10, 2017 @ SJS W 4-3 (OT) 0 1 1 0 2 2 1 16:30
Dec 8, 2017 @ ANA W 3-2 (OT) 1 1 2 2 0 4 0 17:23
Dec 5, 2017 @ LAK L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 17:13
Dec 2, 2017 vs STL W 2-1 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 4 1 17:42
Nov 30, 2017 vs VGK W 4-2 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 18:03
Nov 27, 2017 @ WPG L 2-7 1 0 1 -1 0 2 2 15:39
Nov 25, 2017 @ STL L 3-6 0 1 1 1 2 2 1 15:05
Nov 24, 2017 vs COL W 3-2 (SO) 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 18:33
Nov 22, 2017 @ BUF W 5-4 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 17:58
Nov 20, 2017 vs NJD L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 2 0 0 18:31
Nov 18, 2017 @ WSH L 1-3 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 17:16
Nov 16, 2017 vs NSH W 6-4 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 16:56
Nov 14, 2017 vs PHI W 3-0 1 0 1 2 0 2 0 13:53
Nov 11, 2017 @ PHI W 1-0 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 15:41
Nov 9, 2017 @ MTL W 3-0 3 0 3 3 2 7 1 16:32
Nov 8, 2017 @ TOR L 2-4 2 0 2 0 0 5 2 19:05
Nov 6, 2017 @ BOS L 3-5 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 13:32
Nov 4, 2017 vs CHI L 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 18:42
Nov 2, 2017 vs MTL W 6-3 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 18:32
Oct 31, 2017 vs WPG L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 16:51
Oct 28, 2017 vs PIT W 2-1 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 19:07
Oct 26, 2017 vs NYI W 6-4 1 0 1 -1 0 3 0 17:32
Oct 24, 2017 vs VAN L 0-1 0 0 0 0 2 3 2 18:24
Oct 21, 2017 @ CGY W 4-2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 20:01
Oct 20, 2017 @ WPG L 3-4 0 2 2 1 0 2 3 20:20
Oct 14, 2017 vs CBJ L 4-5 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 0 0 1 22:29
Oct 12, 2017 @ CHI W 5-2 1 1 2 1 0 5 3 19:52
Oct 7, 2017 @ CAR L 4-5 (SO) 1 1 2 2 0 4 4 18:27
Oct 5, 2017 @ DET L 2-4 0 0 0 -2 0 2 1 16:17