Report: Arizona Coyotes holding Jason Zucker out of lineup for trade-related purposes

It is ironic that the Coyotes would hold out Zucker, as it was them who perfected the term “trade-related purposes” when they held defenseman Jakob Chychrun out of the lineup for an extended period of time last season before dealing him to the Ottawa Senators.

Through 51 games in his first season with the Coyotes, Zucker has nine goals and 16 assists. He is currently on a one-year deal with Arizona, with an AAV of $5.3 million. It would not be surprising to see the Coyotes retain some of that cap hit to make a trade possible.

Zucker has been traded just once in his entire career. It happened in February of the 2019-20 season, when the Minnesota Wild sent him to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Zucker will bring a lot of experience to any suitor, especially in the playoffs. In the Newport Beach, California native’s 12-year career, he has only missed the postseason four times. In 679 career games, he has registered 191 goals and 172 assists, including 15 points in 46 playoff appearances.

Zucker would not be the first person to be kept out of the lineup for trade purposes this week. The Seattle Kraken held Alexander Wennberg out of Monday’s game against the Calgary Flames for the same reason.

After Tuesday night, the Coyotes have one more game before the deadline, that coming when they host Zucker’s former team, the Wild, on Thursday night.