Report: Penguins continue to pursue Zucker

The Pittsburgh Penguins remain interested in acquiring Minnesota Wild forward Jason Zucker, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

However, the Wild "aren't yet ready to concede anything," Friedman adds.

Zucker was reportedly the main return in a potential deal between the two clubs that would have sent Phil Kessel to Minnesota last May. Kessel reportedly nixed the trade, however, and was ultimately dealt to the Arizona Coyotes at the end of June.

Minnesota has just three wins over its last 10 games and sits seven points back of the second Western Conference wild-card spot.

Zucker, 28, has hit the 20-goal mark in four of the last five campaigns and is on pace for 24 tallies this season despite missing 10 games with an injury. He ranks second among Wild forwards with 0.69 points per game through 39 contests.

The 5-foot-11 winger has three years remaining on his current deal beyond this season and carries an annual cap hit of $5.5 million. Pittsburgh has 1.9 million in projected cap space this season, but the Penguins could move Jake Guentzel's $6-million hit to long-term injured reserve in order to create more financial flexibility ahead of the playoffs.

Zucker's speed and skill could boost a Penguins team that owns one of the league's top offenses despite losing several key players to injury at various points this season. Pittsburgh sits seventh in league scoring with 3.30 goals per game and ranks third in both expected goals for and high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

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