Nashville Predators acquire Jason Zucker from Arizona Coyotes

The Nashville Predators have acquired veteran winger Jason Zucker from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for the Dallas Stars sixth-round pick in this year's draft.

Zucker, 32, is a pending unrestricted free agent playing on a one-year, $5.3-million deal that he signed with the Coyotes last offseason. He leaves Arizona having contributed 25 points through 51 contests, all while averaging 14:02 a night in all-situations ice time.

Jason Zucker, acquired by NSH, is a middle-six offensive winger. Has definitely missed Malkin this season and was seeing a lot less ice in Arizona, but still should have something to bring to Nashville's transition game. #Preds pic.twitter.com/oAv6G1Cm1O

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 8, 2024

The move comes as the Predators have gone on a nice little run here, going 9-0-1 in their last 10 and solidifying themselves as a playoff team in the process. MoneyPuck has their playoff chances at 74.4 percent.

The Coyotes, meanwhile, have been in freefall for the last month-plus, and with the playoffs out of reach, the mandate remains to build for the future. And this trade adds even more capital to their war chest of futures, even if it's not the most sizeable return.