Transaction Analysis: Zegras acquisition comes with high upside

On Monday, the Flyers traded Ryan Poehling to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for center/winger Trevor Zegras. The Flyers also included two Draft picks: a second-round pick (45th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round selection in 2026.

Zegras, 24, is one of the NHL’s most skilled and flashiest players on offense. He had back-to-back 23-goal, 60-plus-point seasons in 2021-22 (61 points) and 2022-23 (65 points).

Flyers General Manager Daniel Briere spoke to the media about the deal in an early evening video conference call on Monday. The GM said that Zegras' skill and upside were too much to pass up. If he stays healthy, the prime years of the forward's career still lay ahead.

Zegras is a player in whom Briere has had interest in the past. Trade rumors have often linked the Flyers to Zegras in the last few years. The trade finally came to fruition.

"We had some discussions on Trevor in the past," Briere acknowledged.

"There were times it wasn't feasible on our end. There were times...most times... Anaheim wasn't willing to let go of him. We just got to a point where the timing was right for both teams. It made sense this morning to do it."

Zegras (6-foot-0, 185 pounds) has split time between center and wing during his NHL career. While it will be up to new head coach Rick Tocchet to determine where and with whom Zegras plays, Briere ideally hopes Zegras can play in the middle.

"We're hoping he can help in the center position because that's obviously an area we could improve. At the same time, if Rick decides he's better suited on the wing and there's other guys who play better in the middle, [Tocchet] is going to decide," Briere said.

When he's on top of his game, Zegras makes some highlight reel plays with the puck. His over-the-net, alley-oop setup to Sonny Milao in December 2021 still the makes rounds on all-time spectacular plays. From behind the net, Zegras deliberately telegraphed a fake "Michigan" (lacrosse-style) shot attempt and then quickly flipped the puck over the top of the net. Milano then legally batted the puck into the net.

However, the Zegras trade is not without some calculated risk. First and foremost, the player is coming off back-to-back down seasons marred by injury and reduced production. He was limited to 31 games in 2023-24 (six goals, nine assists, 15 points) and 57 games (12g, 20a, 32 points) in 2024-25.

This past season, Zegras underwent surgery to repair a torn knee meniscus sustained in a December 4 match against the Vegas Golden Knights. He missed 24 games. Meanwhile, the Ducks went 8-13-3. Upon his return, Zegras remained in the lineup the rest of the year. He missed three games in March due an NHL suspension stemming from a check to the head on Detroit's Michael Ramussen.

Zegras is primarily known as an offense-oriented player. He and hard-nosed former Anaheim coach Greg Cronin had their share of ups and downs in their working relationship. However, the two eventually came to reach a middle ground on paying attention to 200-foot detail while allowing enough leeway to create offensive plays.

“He’s been terrific this year," Cronin told The Hockey News. "If you were to ask me one player that’s probably made the most progress even though his stats don’t reflect it, it’s him."

Zegras is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent next summer. Zegras will enter the 2025-26 season in the final year of a three-season, $5.75 million average annual value (AAV) bridge deal signed with Anaheim in 2023.

The personable Zegras is well-liked by teammates. He forged a very close friendship in Anaheim with defenseman Jamie Drydale. The two have now been reunited as teammates. Previously, as a member of the U.S.National Team Development Program. Zegras became friendly with Cam York.

The USNTDP squad of 2018-2019 was arguably the most talent-laden in the program's history. In addition to Zegras and York, the team featured Jack Hughes, Cole Caufield, Matthew Boldy, Alex Turcotte, Henry Thrun, Alex Vlasic, Drew Helleson, Domenick Fensore and goalie Spencer Knight. All of these players later saw time in the NHL. Most have become regulars or semi-regulars in the world's best league. Hughes, Caufield, Zegras and Boldy were the big offensive standouts up front.

By age 21, Zegras was already an NHL impact player offensively. Despite the injuries and reduced production of the last two seasons, the Flyers are banking on a return to offensive form from the still-young player. Apart from health, the Flyers want to see Zegras and Tocchet forge a strong coach-player relationship. Zegras’ previous head coach Greg Cronin generally liked what he saw from Zegras this past season. Now the task will be to see the offensive numbers rebound while maintaining his improvements without the puck.