Jim Rutherford had a deal in place to acquire winger Jason Zucker from Minnesota last summer, but Phil Kessel, who would have gone to the Wild in that trade, exercised his right to veto it.
Rutherford persisted, though, and it paid off Monday night when he landed Zucker in exchange for winger Alex Galchenyuk, a conditional first-round choice in the 2020 NHL Draft and defense prospect Calen Addison. The condition on the draft choice is that the Penguins have the option to give Minnesota their No. 1 pick in 2021 instead of 2020 if they fail to qualify for the playoffs this season.