On opportunities for Zegras
Yeah, ultimately Trevor has been wanting to play center, and I think that he'll be given that opportunity in Philadelphia. I think that when he's more creative in the middle of the ice than having to play from the wing, we're fortunate there's Leo [Carlsson] and there's Mason [McTavish]. So we find that they're two pretty good centermen. So Trevor to kind of get pushed to the wing, and that probably doesn't suit his best attributes being able to create from the middle. So bringing in Chris Kreider kind of changed the line combinations from that aspect. And as I said before, we're looking to have different ingredients of players to complement each other's assets. You can't always have the most skilled guys on a line and expect that line to be great. There's always another ingredient that helps make those skilled guys better. So I'm looking for those types of scenarios to have our lines have a different look and a different feel.
On whether Coach Quenneville had input on the deal
When I talk to coaches, it's like we have conversations, but I mean Joel ultimately doesn't know the player. I know the player, so it's like I can go in and talk to him briefly about it, but it's not like we’re persuaded by Joel's opinion in this case. I've spoken to him after the trade today, and he understands that we're getting a good player back and going to be able to fill a role for us that we've been looking to fill. And so he's excited for Ryan to come in here.
On speaking to ownership about the deal
I spoke with Henry [Samueli] about it. He was completely fine. He understands that there's moves that have to be made. Ultimately Henry wants to win, and I have to make moves that I feel can improve the team and the chemistry of this team and the makeup. So he was fine with it.
On the style of play of new Ducks Kreider and Poehling
Obviously Chris is a big kid. He's 6 3, 230. I am looking at Ryan Poehling, he 6-2, 215 pounds. They're mature players, and based on whether in their roles and stuff, this is part of the different chemistry and different makeup that I'm looking to get accomplished. And where they fit will be ultimately left up to Joel as far as the line combinations. But we have a vision of where they're going to play, and we'll see if that ultimately … I think they're going to be great fits for our team and how Joel wants to play. He wants to play fast, and they have that ability to play fast and forecheck. So it's going to be about playing fast.
On being aggressive this offseason
We're going to go about the process and obviously when you're talking about recruiting, it's no different than trying to recruit a player to go to college for your team. It is no different. It's the same process. Now you're dealing with professionals, and you have to put your best foot forward and try and sell your team. You have to try and sell the players. Ultimately players make decisions for a lot of different reasons. So we're going to do our best and hopefully things work out.
On Zegras being a restricted free agent next season
Well, I mean all of that stuff's part of the process. There's certain things when you're managing the cap and contracts, there's a lot of thought, two, three years advancement in plans. So certainly that was thought about, but I think that looking at it ultimately we came down to just wanting to retool this club for this season.
On the team’s needs going into the draft
That's probably one we're going to look at, because where we are at pick 10, it's going to be interesting to see what players are available. Certainly you can go for the best players no doubt or something more specific. I think we feel comfortable with our depth and what we have and what we have coming that there's a lot of slots filled up to supply the Anaheim Ducks lineup in the future. So yeah, we can probably take an aggressive swing at the player that we think has the most upside.
On pursuing a contract extension for Poehling
Well, you guys are asking questions like I had a crystal ball, but I mean ultimately we were excited to get him in here and we're going to evaluate, like I always do with him when it comes to the whole season. If things look like he's going to be a really good fit, then obviously it's important that we try and get him under contract and go from there. But we're going to have six months to evaluate this.
On the potential of trading the 10th pick in next week’s Draft
Yes, I am looking at that as well. Certainly. I think there's a lot of teams looking at that and that kind of stuff. Certainly you can go after a player that's probably in his prime right now and be able to add to the group. So there's certainly some of that stuff we're exploring.
On future deals this offseason
I'm looking at everything. Obviously there's free agency, but there's trade. I'm exploring trades. It's why I explored with Kreider. Sometimes trades can be a little easier than even free agents, so I'm looking at everything.
