Trevor Zegras traded from Anaheim Ducks to Philadelphia Flyers: Sources

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Trevor Zegras, long rumored to be a trade target, finally has been dealt. The Anaheim Ducks agreed to send Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday for a second-round pick in next week’s draft (No. 45 overall), a fourth-round pick in 2026 and forward Ryan Poehling, sources from both teams told The Athletic.

Zegras, 24, once was thought to be a foundational player for the Ducks, who drafted him with the No. 9 pick in 2019. Since then, he has enjoyed periods of success but also inconsistency and injuries. This season, Zegras totaled 12 goals and 20 assists in 57 games. He has 186 points in 268 career NHL games.

This is the second major trade between the Ducks and Flyers in less than two years. In January 2024, the Flyers sent prospect Cutter Gauthier to Anaheim for Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick.

The pick involved in Monday’s trade (No. 45) originally belonged to the Columbus Blue Jackets and is not the pick the Flyers sent to the Ducks last year, which turned out to be No. 40.

What it means for the Flyers

The pivot on the Flyers’ rebuild has officially begun, as general manager Daniel Briere made what is really his first notable addition to the club after two years of steady subtraction. Zegras will give the Flyers’ top six some much-needed skill, although it’s unclear whether he’ll play on the wing, where he spent virtually all of this past season in Anaheim, or at center, where the Flyers could desperately use more talent and depth. A Flyers team source said Monday that the hope is Zegras can play center but “we will see.”

Zegras has lost some of his shine in recent years after finishing second in Calder Trophy voting in 2022, beset by injuries and cold stretches. But he’ll presumably be given every opportunity to get back on track with the Flyers, who are hoping to meaningfully improve after finishing with the fourth-worst record in the NHL this past season. Zegras is also close friends with Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale, his former teammate with the Ducks, and Southern California native and defenseman Cam York, so that should ease the transition.

The cost to acquire Zegras seems reasonable. While Poehling was a solid depth player for the Flyers for two seasons with his combination of speed and penalty-killing prowess, his ceiling probably tops out as a fourth-line center. Surrendering the No. 45 pick in this year’s draft doesn’t hurt the club much either, as the Flyers still own six total picks among the top 50, including three first-round selections.

What Briere did with Poehling is particularly notable — and a credit to his asset management. After the Pittsburgh Penguins failed to qualify Poehling as a restricted free agent, the Flyers inked him to a one-year, prove-it deal. He was rewarded with a two-year, $3.8 million extension midway through the 2023-24 season and was one of the few bright spots on the club in the second half of this past season, posting eight goals and 16 points in the final 16 games. His departure could open the door for someone like 2024 first-round draft pick Jett Luchanko or prospect/late-season add from Michigan State Karsen Dorwart to make the team.

What it means for the Ducks

This ends a long saga for Zegras. When Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek was hired in February 2022, there was initial speculation that Zegras wasn’t the type of player Verbeek would keep around as Anaheim came out of its rebuild. How much of that is true or overblown can be debated, but the Ducks have clearly shifted their mindset. Remember that Zegras was drafted by Bob Murray in 2019, not Verbeek.

There is no doubt that the Ducks are losing a player with a lot of talent that, in some ways, has yet to be fully realized. Zegras is wildly creative — anyone can just search his name and “The Michigan” to see how inventive he is with the puck. Zegras also worked on his overall game under former Ducks coach Greg Cronin, who made it a mission for the forward to become more of a two-way player.

But Zegras’ last two seasons have been wrecked by injuries that took him out of the lineup for large chunks of the schedule. Verbeek has been building his lineup, and it increasingly looked like Zegras didn’t have a firm place in it. Zegras struggled in the details at center, the position he prefers, and the Ducks now have Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish in place there. Left wing, where Zegras played mostly last season, is filled by the emerging Gauthier and veterans Frank Vatrano and Chris Kreider, who was acquired two weeks ago through trade.

The return for Zegras reflects that the Ducks traded him when his value was at a low point. But Zegras still has serious point-producing potential when fitted with some offensive skill around him in a top-six role. The Flyers are taking that bet now. The low return also opens up the possibility of taking on a major talent – whether that’s jumping into the Mitch Marner sweepstakes or getting another legitimate top-line winger through trade.

The Ducks added $3.8 million in cap space with Zegras leaving the books and Poehling coming in as an option to become their fourth-line center. PuckPedia has Anaheim with an estimated $36 million available. The Ducks are in great position to offer a franchise-changing, if not league-altering, contract to Marner. They’ve also now got two second-round selections and their own No. 10 overall pick to put in play for someone such as Colorado’s Martin Necas, if Marner is out of their reach.

Poehling brings size and speed as a potential upgrade at 4C from Isac Lundeström, a 2018 first-round pick who didn’t build on his breakout 2021-22 season and is now an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent. Verbeek has been focusing more on the size and speed element with this club. With Kreider and Poehling now added to the cast, it’s starting to look more like the team he imagined competing for postseason berths.

(Photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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