Season in Review | Jason Zucker

Jason Zucker, LW

73 GP | 21 G | 32 A | 53 PTS | +4

Every day through early May, Sabres.com will be recapping each player’s performance with all the numbers, highlights, quotations and content that tell the story of their 2024-25 season.

Today, we look back on Jason Zucker’s productive first season in blue and gold.

• Read previous Season in Review profiles here

Season at a glance

Zucker joined the Sabres on a one-year contract last July after scoring 14 goals and 32 points the season prior, which he split between Arizona and Nashville.

He said during his opening press conference that he intended to bring veteran leadership and a hardworking style of play to Buffalo. He also expressed confidence that he could get his offensive numbers back to where they were in Minnesota and Pittsburgh, where he was a perennial 20-goal scorer.

“For me, a lot of it’s about deployment,” Zucker said at the time.

The 33-year-old made good on that belief, taking advantage of a net-front role on the top power-play unit to produce one of the most productive offensive seasons of his career. He finished with 21 goals, including a team-best 11 on the power play. His 53 points were his most since 2017-18, when he had a career-high 64.

That production, coupled with his status as a leader in the dressing room, earned Zucker a two-year contract extension ahead of the trade deadline in March.

Number to know: 17

Zucker scored 17 of his 21 goals in what NHL EDGE defines as the high-danger area, comprised of the crease and the ice directly in front of it.

That number speaks to Zucker’s willingness to battle in front of the opposing net and, once there, his ability to connect on deflections and rebounds. His eight goals scored on deflections tied for third in the NHL (four behind league leader Alex Tuch).

Check out how Zucker's goals broke down by location in the graphic below:

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They said it

“I can't say enough good things about Jason Zucker from Day 1. You get a guy in, you do your homework in the summer and you hear things, but you never really know until a guy walks in the door. He has been a leader – a tremendous pro.” – Kevyn Adams in March, after signing Zucker to a two-year extension.

“I think ultimately we failed. We didn’t accomplish our goals of getting into the playoffs and becoming a playoff team, and I think that’s a big piece of what we need to take into the offseason is that. And I think there’s things we can look positively on – guys having career years and guys playing well and a lot of little things that I think we can take as positives, but I think we ultimately need to look at it as we weren’t good enough. I’m gonna take that as – being one of the old guys, the oldest guy – that it’s not good enough. We need to raise our standard individually and bring that into the summer, have a better summer training, and ultimately come back better next year.” – Zucker assessing the Sabres’ season on locker cleanout day.

End-of-season press conference

Required reading

• Zucker drawing rave reviews midway through first season with Sabres
• In Jason Zucker, Sabres lock up invaluable veteran

What’s next

Zucker’s contract extension sends him into the summer with job security after splitting the last three seasons with four different franchises. He’s expected to be a leader and an offensive contributor again in 2025-26.