Flyers Should Make a Play for Ducks RFA Trevor Zegras

The Philadelphia Flyers could use some long-term help at center, and Trevor Zegras can provide that if they want to address their need now. 

If there’s one situation worth monitoring for the rest of the summer, it’s Trevor Zegras’ contract situation. In 2022-23, Trevor Zegras finished his second full professional season, but it wasn’t much of an improvement over his 2021-22 season. Zegras finished with four more points (61 to 65) in six more games played (75 to 81). Zegras also piled up 88 penalty minutes this season, and in the past two seasons, he has a plus-minus rating of -45.

Trevor Zegras’ plus-minus rating is probably negligible, considering how bad the Anaheim Ducks have been defensively over the past few years. John Gibson and the rest of their goaltenders during that time period have really struggled, too. Effectively, Zegras and a small handful of other players are the only ones keeping the Ducks remotely competitive.

At his best, Trevor Zegras is an uber dynamic forward who sees and plays the game at a higher level than his opponents. Zegras has scored 20 goals and 60 points in each of the last two years, and has even more untapped potential offensively. Someone just has to unlock it.

When Trevor Zegras was first coming out of the 2019 NHL Draft, Curtis Joe of EliteProspects described Zegras like this:

"“Zegras is an elite two-way forward that can play both wing and center. His pro-level mobility is the foundation of his game, supplementing an in-transition speed that shifts the pace of play. He knows how to get under the skin of opponents and will actively seek out opportunities to lay the body and create separation, all the while staying attentive to the unfolding play. This unique aspect of his game makes him difficult and frustrating to play against. His ability to finish and create plays is undoubtedly the hallmark of his game. . .” (Curtis Joe, 2019)."

At the NHL level, so far at least, Trevor Zegras hasn’t progressed his offensive game to that next level, and has struggled defensively. It begs the question of whether or not Zegras can actually improve the Philadelphia Flyers, and/or improve as an individual on the Flyers.

If one thing is for certain, Trevor Zegras’ skill level isn’t keeping him from a new contract, and in fact, it could be a variety of things. The Anaheim Ducks might have concerns with his discipline and defensive play, and the team might also not find him as valuable as Cole Caufield, Matt Boldy, or Jack Hughes – three of Zegras’ former teammates who have already been inked to new contracts. Cam York, another former teammate of Zegras, recently signed a new bridge deal with the Flyers.

If the Philadelphia Flyers wish to trade for Trevor Zegras outright, they have the assets to do so. They’re stacked with goaltending prospects and other futures, but they might want to hold onto their 2024 first-round pick. The Ducks have both Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish at center, so they don’t necessarily need to keep Zegras even though he and Carlsson can both play wing as well.

If the Philadelphia Flyers wish to offer sheet Trevor Zegras, they might need to make some things happen first. If they offer Zegras somewhere between $4.29 million and $6.435 million, it’ll cost them a first-round pick and a third-round pick. The Flyers cannot offer Zegras anywhere between $6.436 million and $10.725 million because they do not have the appropriate draft capital on hand to do so. Therefore, unless the Ducks refuse to match an extremely cheap offer sheet, the Flyers will need to make a tasty trade offer to bring Trevor Zegras to Philly.

All things considered, a trade could work for both sides, but at the moment it’s unclear how things are going between Trevor Zegras and the Ducks. If the Flyers want a highly skilled player who fits the mold of a classic Flyer, they need not look further. Until then, more speculation will undoubtedly be made about whether or not Zegras is dating TikTok star Dixie D’Amelio.