WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Amid all of the Wild training camp hype surrounding new arrivals Nico Sturm and Vladimir Tarasenko, the full-time arrival of rookies like Danila Yurov and Jesper Wallstedt, and the contract extensions handed to Filip Gustavsson and Kirill Kaprizov, there was another storyline that probably should have been noted as a bigger deal.
Veteran forward Mats Zuccarello was injured, we learned in September. Not only would he miss all of training camp, he might not be ready until after Thanksgiving because of a lower body ailment, maybe not unexpected for a 38-year-old mainstay with more than 1,000 NHL games on his resume.
As the Wild slouched out of the gate, winning just three times in their first dozen games, the “things will get better when Zuccy returns” mantra was heard again and again from fans looking for any reason to be optimistic about the season.
It can hardly be a coincidence, then, that after Sunday’s game in Winnipeg, the Wild are 7-0-1 since Zuccarello returned for a Nov. 7 road game against the New York Islanders. On that night on Long Island, Zuccarello notched a highlight reel assist in his 2025-26 debut, and had an assist versus the Jets on Sunday, giving him eight points (one goal, seven assists) in his first eight games.
“I think Zuccy brings a personality and a veteran presence to the team that I think is very positive,” Wild coach John Hynes after Zuccarello posted his fifth point in three games in a 5-0 victory Friday in Pittsburgh. “He’s a highly talented player that plays the game in the right way, I think.
“Just (with) his attitude around the group, he can loosen some things up. But he can do that because he plays the right way. So it’s good to see him come back right off the injury, and he has made a major impact for us.”
Part of that impact can be seen on the ice, clearly. But the Zuccarello teammates and media meet behind the locker room doors is a force all its own. He also has shown some grit since returning from injury, fighting his way into the lineup for a Nov. 15 home win over Anaheim despite dealing with an illness that added pregame IV fluids to Zuccarello’s pregame routine.
One of the rare Norwegian players in the NHL, Zuccarello made his debut in the 2010-11 season with the Rangers and spent his first nine seasons in New York. After a brief stint with the Dallas Stars, Zuccarello signed with Minnesota in 2019.
Zuccarello has declined to speak about the impact he has made on the ice since returning, although it appears that’s only around reporters.
“He talks to me about it, I can tell you that,” Hynes said, with a smile.
Briefly
Hynes said Sunday that forward Vinnie Hinostroza, who suffered a lower body injury Friday in Pittsburgh, will be out week-to-week. His loss coincided with the return of Sturm from the back surgery he had following a training camp injury, so the Wild have not had to call up a forward. Hinostoza left the team’s road trip and returned to Minnesota to meet with doctors after the injury.
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