Mats all, folks
Zuc ponders own future; Rangers win
RALEIGH, N.C. — A bunch of Mats Zuccarello’s friends are gone. He was reflecting on yet another in Ryan McDonagh, who returned to MSG Friday with the Lightning after being traded at the deadline, when he was reminded that he was also the subject of trade rumors in February.
More changes are coming this summer for the Rangers. Did Zuccarello think he was possibly playing his final home game at the Garden Friday?
“Maybe. I don’t know. You can’t really look at it that way,” Zuccarello said. “I have one year left on my deal and my plan is to be here next year.”
Indeed, Zuccarello is under contract on a $4.5 million cap hit through next season, when he’ll be 31 years old. He’s had his chances at the Stanley Cup but won’t this year, while friends and former teammates like McDonagh, Derick Brassard and Carl Hagelin will.
Zuccarello misses them and envies their current situations, but he wants to stay in New York and help the rebuilding Rangers — who on Saturday defeated the Hurricanes, 2-1, behind Henrik Lundqvist’s 40 saves — usher in a new era.
“I think what we’ve got going here is the start of something good,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of good young players on the way up and I think we’ve been playing good lately. Obviously it’s sad to see your friends leave and be on other teams. It for sure sucks to see all of them have the chance to win the Stanley Cup, but I think everyone here is really proud to be a Ranger. The most important thing for me is to be here. I love it here. I’m proud to be a Ranger and represent New York City. So I think at the end of the day, I’m happy.”
Zuccarello bonded with McDonagh when they played for the then-named Connecticut Whale in the AHL during the 2010-11 season, each making his NHL debut that season within two weeks of one another.
They played a lot of video games together, and Zuccarello spent his first Thanksgiving with McDonagh and his wife.
“And we got a little drunk, I’m not gonna lie,” Zuccarello said. “I think I hadn’t scored in the AHL before, so I went to him, ate and we had a good night, and the next game I scored three goals in the AHL. So that was a good night for us.”