Mats Zuccarello thrives with Wild after making his mark in New York City

Like the assists that outnumber his goals, Mats Zuccarello is usually known as the complement.

He’s a third of the Wild’s top line and one-half of their best duo, a vital denominator but the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.

And yet it’s the entirety of his 15-year NHL career that makes Zuccarello as valuable as he is to the Wild in the winger’s sixth season with the organization.

After breaking into the league during his 20s with the New York Rangers, Zuccarello joined the Wild as the polished pro — a veteran who brought style and substance: His playmaking clicked with superstar scorer Kirill Kaprizov, and his personality conveyed a been there, done that leadership.

Zuccarello’s experience was especially clutch after the Wild’s superb start was threatened by an onslaught of injuries — including his own and Kaprizov’s — and the 37-year-old’s poise should continue to come in handy as the team vies to solidify a playoff spot as a contender in the chase for the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.

“You can give 100% all the time, and I think you can expect that from everyone,” Zuccarello said. “That’s the goal I have.”

Although Zuccarello may never appear in as many games for the Wild as he did the Rangers, his legacy with Minnesota could outshine his tenure in the Big Apple.

An undrafted free agent from Norway, Zuccarello was a fan favorite for mixing his skill with a competitive work ethic during his nine seasons with New York that included a run to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final that Los Angeles won.

But after getting traded to Dallas in 2019 and then subsequently signing with the Wild as their prized offseason pickup, Zuccarello began playing the best hockey of his career.

“He’s always been good since he’s been here,” alternate captain Marcus Foligno said. “But I just think he found his calling.”

Zuccarello’s second season with the Wild was Kaprizov’s first, and the two’s chemistry jolted the Wild offense.

“It was right away, first game,” Kaprizov said before the season.

Since Kaprizov’s debut, he and Zuccarello are one-two in team scoring and their combined production trails only the NHL’s most elite pairs of this era like Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, former Colorado teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen and Toronto’s Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

Never had Zuccarello connected with a player like he did Kaprizov, Zuccarello’s passing syncing with Kaprizov’s nose for the net, and their cohesiveness was on display early this season when they were reunited after a split while the Wild slumped and missed the playoffs last year.

They were on the ice for 25 of the 53 goals the Wild tallied through the first month, with Kaprizov scoring nine, Zuccarello six and at least one of them assisting on 14 goals by others. Of the 183 goals Kaprizov has in the NHL, Zuccarello has factored in 75.

That they’re always lumped together, Zuccarello the Robin to Kaprizov’s Batman, doesn’t bother Zuccarello.

After all, their partnership on the ice extends beyond the rink where they’re best buddies.

“I know he’s helped me become a better player. Hopefully I can help him out a little bit,” Zuccarello said. “But more importantly for me is he’s one of my closest friends, and I would never be jealous.

“I love that he gets the attention, which he should get. I think it’s great, and I hope he gets more.”

While each was piling up points through the first month-plus of the season, Kaprizov emerged as the league’s early MVP frontrunner — his ascent mirroring the upstart Wild, who were battling for first in the NHL.

Kaprizov bolstered his candidacy when Zuccarello was hurt in mid-November after taking a Brock Faber shot to the midsection, what Zuccarello called a “freak accident” that left him immobile for weeks.

But after Zuccarello was back in the lineup a month later, he logged just six games with Kaprizov before Kaprizov was sidelined a month with a lower-body injury.

The winger eventually underwent surgery and will remain out until at least March.

“I would love to see him win it for him and his family,” Zuccarello said of the Hart Trophy, which has never gone to a Wild player. “So, I think that’s sad, but that’s the reality sometimes. I don’t know if it bothered him or whatever. I don’t want to poke into that, but it bothers me.”

Regardless of whether he and Kaprizov are on the ice together, Zuccarello tries to play the same way, and that showed in his performance while Kaprizov was on the mend.

Zuccarello had a team-high 14 points during the 12 games the Wild played before Kaprizov’s brief return, and overall Zuccarello ranks fourth in scoring with 36 points from 12 goals and 24 assists.

“I did play 10 years without Kirill,” Zuccarello said, “so I know how to skate without him being here.”

But ahead of the recent 4 Nations Face-Off break, Zuccarello described his game as “up and down, like the team” despite being a stabilizer for a forward group that has also been without Joel Eriksson Ek, Ryan Hartman, Marcus Johansson, Jakub Lauko and Yakov Trenin.

“We’re our biggest critics,” Zuccarello said.

The Wild won two in a row on home ice before the two-week layoff, and the turnaround came after a couple of swoons: They dropped two straight after a statement victory at Colorado on Jan. 20 and then after rebounding on the road where the Wild have dominated, they suffered an ugly blowout at Ottawa and were shut out again three nights later in Boston.

Zuccarello didn’t stay quiet, publicly or in private.

“When we had meetings about what was going on, he was a guy that said some things,” coach John Hynes said. “But at the same time, there wasn’t a say and do gap of this is what I think we should do or what we need to do and then someone else can do that.

“Usually if he speaks up to the team or in a meeting or to me, usually he backs it up with action, which to me is important.”

After the loss to the Senators, like other off games by the Wild, Zuccarello spoke to the media, and that’s by design.

When he’s asked to reflect on a win, especially if he’s a catalyst, Zuccarello tends to minimize his role — even chalking it up to luck. But amid adversity, he answers each question with perspective and candor.

“I have no urge to talk or be in the center when everything goes well,” he explained. “But I understand that it’s tougher to talk when things go bad. As an older guy, I think you should take that responsibility instead of sending a 21 or 22-year-old in times like that.”

If Kaprizov is the face of the Wild, Foligno likened Zuccarello to the lungs.

“In tight situations he can let everyone just exhale a little bit and relax,” Foligno said.

Zuccarello is respected by his Wild teammates because of his honesty and how he stays true to who he is.

“As he’s gotten older, he’s able to see you gotta have some fun,” Foligno said. “There’s hard times in this league and you gotta make light of it and that’s what Zuccy can [do]. The tough things he can make seem like a joke. He’s a lot of fun, and he’s one of those guys that every dressing room needs, but we’re lucky to have him.”

Right now, in the thick of a playoff race, is when Zuccarello’s levity should resonate most.

The Wild are comfortably in contention, but they’ve wavered against their closest competition in the Western Conference — going 3-8 vs. Colorado, Dallas, Edmonton, Vegas and Winnipeg, a group that is very likely to include their first-round foe if the Wild advance.

“Why all this talk about the first round?” Zuccarello said. “I don’t see success going to the second round. Success is if you win it all. So, I think if you come into the playoffs, that’s your goal and if you’re not good enough, it doesn’t matter if you go to the first or second or whatever round you’re in.”

How much longer Zuccarello has to pursue a Stanley Cup is unclear.

He’s under contract through next season, and he acknowledged that could be his final year even though he hasn’t made up his mind yet.

“I still feel young,” said Zuccarello, who has 210 goals, 462 assists and 672 points in 878 NHL games. “But the number next to my name is bigger and bigger. Obviously, your body is going to let you know. I’ve always said that I’ll play as long as I think it’s fun and I feel that I’m good enough. So, that’s why I think I’ll take it a season at a time.

“When it’s time, it’s time. But obviously, it’s sooner rather than later. When you’re turning 38 next season, who knows? Maybe next year will be my last year. I’m going to announce it in the summer, and hopefully get some Marc-Andre Fleury treatment on the way out.”

No matter when he retires, the impact Zuccarello has made on the Wild is undeniable and vice versa.

The most successful Norwegian in NHL history, Zuccarello grew up in New York and that maturity followed him to Minnesota. Here is home for his two daughters, and he has never been better on the ice, Zuccarello and the Wild teaming up at a time that suited them both.

And the journey together isn’t over.

“You have to find joy in coming in, being around the people you are every day, and obviously hopefully that leads to the ultimate goal [which] is to win,” Zuccarello said. “I think to win with Minnesota would be unbelievable.”