Norway and Sweden Zuccarello began playing full-time for Frisk in the
GET-ligaen, Norway's premiere league, as an 18-year-old. He scored 8 points over 21 games as a rookie in
2005–06. The
following season, he improved to 59 points over 43 games, third in league scoring behind
Jonas Solberg Andersen and
Mathis Olimb. In
2007–08, Zuccarello helped Frisk to the best regular season record in the league. Zuccarello finished third in league scoring a second consecutive season with 64 points, as he and Frisk teammates
Chris Abbott,
Cam Abbott and
Marcus Eriksson ranked as the top four GET-ligaen scorers. Zuccarello added 27 points in 15 playoff games as Frisk advanced to the Finals, where they were defeated in six games by the
Storhamar Dragons. After three seasons in the GET-ligaen, Zuccarello signed with
Modo Hockey of the
Elitserien, Sweden's premier league. In his first season with Modo, he ranked third in team scoring with 40 points in 35 games. The following season, he led the team with 23 goals. With a league-leading 64 points, he was awarded the
Guldhjälmen as the league's most valuable player, as voted by Elitserien players.
New York Rangers . In the summer of 2010, Zuccarello was signed as a
free agent by the
New York Rangers of the
National Hockey League (NHL) to a two-year, entry-level contract. He began the
2010–11 season with the
Hartford Wolf Pack/Connecticut Whale, the Rangers'
American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, to adapt to the North American style of hockey and rink dimensions. On 22 December 2010, he was called up to the Rangers following an injury to
right winger Marián Gáborík. He made his NHL debut on 23 December 2010 against the
Tampa Bay Lightning, becoming the seventh Norwegian player to play in the NHL as well as the second undrafted one. Zuccarello logged 17 minutes and 52 seconds of ice time and registered two shots on goal in his NHL debut. As the game remained tied after
overtime, Zuccarello scored in the
shootout against Lightning
goaltender Dan Ellis. However, the Rangers lost the game 4–3. Though he was reassigned to the Whale immediately after the game, the Rangers recalled him for their next game, on 27 December against the
New York Islanders. He earned his first NHL assist during the contest, tying
defenceman Anders Myrvold for the Norwegian player with the fewest games played before recording an NHL point. The Rangers won the game 7–2. Nine days later, in his sixth game, Zuccarello scored his first NHL goal against goaltender
Cam Ward three minutes into overtime, leading the Rangers to a 2–1 victory over the
Carolina Hurricanes. On 1 April 2011 he was reassigned to Connecticut after playing 41 games for the Rangers. On 13 April 2011, Zuccarello became only the second Norwegian to take part in NHL post-season action when the Rangers lost 2–1 against the
Washington Capitals.
Metallurg Magnitogorsk On 1 June 2012, Zuccarello confirmed he had signed a two-year contract with
Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the
Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). However, he returned to the NHL and the Rangers after the
2012–13 NHL lockout.
Return to New York On 28 March 2013, Zuccarello agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the New York Rangers. Zuccarello played in the last 15 games of the
2012–13 campaign, helping the Rangers reach the
postseason. He played in all 12 Ranger playoff games, tallying his first playoff goal in game seven of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Washington Capitals. Zuccarello re-signed with the Rangers at the end of the 2012–13 season for another one-year contract, worth $1.15 million. The
2013–14 season turned out to be a breakout season for Zuccarello. He tallied career highs in goals, assists and team-highs in points, as his contributions helped the Rangers reach the
2014 Stanley Cup Final, where they faced-off against the
Los Angeles Kings. Although New York lost the series 4–1, Zuccarello made history by becoming the first Norwegian to ever participate in the
Stanley Cup Final. His all-around game also took a step forward throughout the season, as he established himself as a hard worker with the ability to get under the skin of his opponents. His work was recognized by being awarded the 2013–14
Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award. On 22 July 2014, Zuccarello agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Rangers. During the
2014–15 season, Zuccarello agreed to a four-year, $18 million contract worth $4.5 million annually that extends through to the 2018–19 season. He finished fifth on the team in scoring, playing a large role with linemate
Rick Nash, having the second-most goals in the NHL, as the Rangers won the
Presidents' Trophy with the League's best regular season record. Early into the
2015 Stanley Cup playoffs, Zuccarello was hit in the head by a shot by his own teammate, Rangers captain
Ryan McDonagh. It was determined Zuccarello suffered a serious brain contusion and concussion and would most likely miss the rest of the playoffs. But rumors escalated as the Rangers continued their run that he may be available if the Rangers made it to the Stanley Cup Final. However, they lost to the
Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games in the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals, ending their season. At the beginning of the
2015–16 season, Zuccarello got off to a fast start in his return, quickly becoming the team leader in scoring. On 30 October, Zuccarello recorded a hat-trick (the first of his NHL career) against the
Toronto Maple Leafs, and on 15 November, he scored the game-winning goal in another game against the Maple Leafs, with less than one minute remaining in regulation. In his comeback season, Zuccarello scored a career-high 26 goals, with 35 assists. His performance, coupled with his tremendous effort, especially returning to the ice after the aforementioned injury the previous postseason, culminated in Zuccarello winning the
Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award again and being selected as a finalist for the
Bill Masterton Trophy for the 2015–16 season. To start the
2017–18 season, Zuccarello was named an
alternate captain of the Rangers on 4 October 2017. On 12 March 2018, Zuccarello recorded his 100th career NHL goal, in a game against the
Carolina Hurricanes, which the Rangers won 6–3. On 23 October 2018, Zuccarello became the ninth player in Rangers history to lead the team in points for three consecutive seasons, joining
Jaromír Jágr,
Wayne Gretzky,
Phil Esposito,
Andy Bathgate,
Bryan Hextall Sr.,
Cecil Dillon,
Bill Cook and
Frank Boucher.
Dallas Stars With the Rangers in a rebuild, Zuccarello was traded to the
Dallas Stars on 23 February 2019, in exchange for a
2019 conditional second-round pick and a
2020 conditional third-round pick. He debuted with the Stars the same day against the
Chicago Blackhawks. He scored his first goal with the team during the second period but later suffered an upper-body injury forcing him to miss the third period of play. Afterwards, the Stars announced he was expected to miss at least four weeks to recover. Zuccarello returned for the playoffs but the Stars were eliminated by the St. Louis Blues in double overtime of game seven in the second round.
Minnesota Wild Having left the Stars as a free agent, Zuccarello signed a five-year, $30 million contract with the
Minnesota Wild on 1 July 2019. On 17 April 2022, during a game against the
St. Louis Blues, Zuccarello had broken the Wild team record for most assists in a season when he recorded his 51st and 52nd assists, surpassing teammate
Kirill Kaprizov and
Pierre-Marc Bouchard (2007–08 season), who held the record at 50. He also recorded his 500th career point, making him the 62nd active NHL player to reach that mark since he entered the league in 2010, following
Martin St Louis and
Artemi Panarin. On 29 September 2023, Zuccarello signed a two-year, $8.25 million contract extension with the Wild. The extension will keep Zuccarello in Minnesota through the
2025–26 season. During the
2024-25 season Zuccarello was fifth overall on the team for points with 19 goals, 35 assists totaling 54 points in 69 games. It was announced in September 2025 that Zuccarello would miss a minimum of 7-8 weeks of play due to a lower body injury. ==International play==