On February 20th, 2019, Jason Zucker saw his best man and one of the last remaining pieces of an old core, Charlie Coyle, get traded to Boston for 23-year old Ryan Donato. He saw his pass proficient linemate who helped him surpass 30 goals in the 2017-2018 season, Mikael Granlund, get moved to division rival Nashville for 22-year old Kevin Fiala. Just a month earlier, he witnessed Nino Niederreiter depart Minnesota, headed to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Fenton almost completed the cycle, nearly trading the last remaining piece of the Mike Yeo/Chuck Fletcher Core for the Calgary Flames’ Michael Frolik and a draft pick.