Ahead Trevor Zegras turned the seventh participant chosen within the first 10 picks of the 2019 NHL Draft to be traded after the Philadelphia Flyers acquired him Monday.
The Anaheim Geese, busy already this offseason after buying longtime New York Rangers power forward Chris Kreider, dealt the No. 9 general decide from the 2019 class to beef up their backside six.
Zegras is a controversial participant who has drawn criticism from longtime hockey individuals for his flashy fashion. His ability is plain, however Zegras has struggled to play a two-way recreation. At 5-on-5, Anaheim is -18 in objective differential with him on-ice, together with his solely net-positive season his truncated first season in 2020-21.
In return for Zegras, the Geese landed a second-round decide within the upcoming NHL Draft (forty fifth general), the Flyers’ 2026 fourth-round decide and ahead Ryan Poehling.
Commerce Grade For Anaheim: B-
Anaheim deserves some credit score and a few blame for the way this all went down. It is plain that, on the apex of his worth, Zegras was price rather more than what the Geese bought Monday.
Defensive considerations apart, Zegras opened his profession with back-to-back 60-point seasons earlier than he turned 22. He’s a younger American star with off-ice attraction, in the end resulting in him touchdown EA Sports activities’ “NHL 23” cowl in October 2022. This was a budding potential famous person.
Then issues bought somewhat bizarre. GM Pat Verbeek performed hardball with Zegras coming into his first contract negotiation. He ultimately bought Zegras beneath contract, however he missed nearly all of coaching camp and preseason.
Early on, then-coach Greg Cronin made a right away instance of Zegras a number of instances, stapling him to the bench late in video games defending a lead. Zegras himself said after a win over Columbus in 2023, the place he did not play within the third interval or additional time, that the “message had been obtained” and that “he needed to play higher.”
Damage points plagued Zegras over the past two seasons — lacking 76 video games in two years as a result of a mixture of irritation, a damaged ankle and a torn meniscus that required surgical procedure.
The Geese spent two years tearing Zegras down within the hopes of remodeling him into a whole participant. Now, they will not be on the receiving finish of the participant Zegras probably might be if all of it comes collectively.
Nonetheless, it is a respectable return for the participant Zegras is now. Poehling is a 26-year-old journeyman who has developed right into a succesful bottom-six two-way heart who logged sizable minutes on Philadelphia’s penalty kill. The draft capital is cheap along with Poehling, who has one yr remaining at a cap hit of $1.9 million.
Commerce Grade For Philadelphia: A-
The Flyers took an upside swing on a participant who already has two 60-point seasons to his title. Whether or not it is at heart or on the wing, Zegras can present some offensive firepower at 5-on-5 and on the facility play. The Flyers made a guess on expertise with out giving up any premium property to do it.
That mentioned, Zegras is not actually offering the worth of a participant making $5.7 million per season, contemplating his enhancements defensively by no means actually translated on-ice for Anaheim (-6 at 5-on-5 final season) and his damage historical past is alarming. If Philadelphia and new head coach Rick Tocchet imagine it is doable to get Zegras again on monitor each as a participant and probably as a middle, it is well worth the danger.
They will not have a variety of time to make this choice. Zegras can be eligible for unrestricted free company in July 2027. For the Flyers to make an actual funding on this participant and imagine he is a part of a future that’s aggressive for the struggling franchise, he must be at his finest instantly.
