His name has been tossed around in trade rumours for some time now, but on Monday, Trevor Zegras finally found a new home.
For the low price of Ryan Poehling, the 45th overall pick in this year's draft, and a fourth-round pick in 2026, the Philadelphia Flyers were able to buy low on Zegras, who the Ducks drafted ninth overall in 2019. The low acquisition cost illustrates how far Zegras' stock has fallen since crossing the 60-point threshold in both his second and third NHL campaigns. He's been hindered by injuries the past two years, appearing in just 88 of a possible 164 games for Anaheim (54%). He hovered around a 40–45-point pace during these past two seasons.
I like the idea of buying low on Zegras, as I think he has a lot to offer offensively when healthy. The problem here – aside from his injury history – is that I'm not sure that Philly provides the best circumstances to foster a bounce-back performance. The greatest disconnect I see is between Zegras, a flashy offensive-first player, and coach Rick Tocchet, who's shown that he values a reliable defensive game. I think back to Andrei Kuzmenko, who might've had a different skillset than Zegras, but also displayed strong offense with defensive deficits. Although Kuzmenko started well under Tocchet, he eventually landed in Tocchet's doghouse due to his poor defensive game, and that resulted in limited ice time and numerous healthy scratches. Now Zegras is younger than Kuzmenko, so habits won't be as strongly ingrained, and there's a better chance of him making the defensive improvements necessary to earn more of Tocchet's trust. The thing is, as is the case with any learning curve, there will probably be some growing pains, so Zegras may perform below his offensive potential early on as he focuses on the defensive side of his game – and there's no guarantee Tocchet's teachings stick.
While there may not be an instant fit between coach and player, Philly could provide Zegras with better power-play opportunity than he'd been seeing in Anaheim. Now, that might seem like a foolish statement considering the only team with a worse PP% than Anaheim over the last two years was Philadelphia, but Matvei Michkov should elevate the Flyers PP over the next little while and exposure to Michkov should help Zegras. The Ducks also have a lot of talent on PP1, but things hadn't clicked there yet and Zegras probably had more competition for PP1 minutes. It's probably too early to discuss line combinations, but perhaps Michkov and Zegras see some reps at even-strength as well, alongside a defensively responsible center like Sean Couturier or Noah Cates. Positionally, Zegras hasn't taken many faceoffs in recent years, and with his defensive game a work in progress, it makes sense for Philly to deploy him on the wing instead of at center.
Now, Zegras saw some exposure to some solid players in Anaheim, so this trade isn't necessarily a massive upgrade in terms of linemate quality, but moreso a chance at a fresh start and clean state that could lay the foundation for new confidence.
You'll notice I haven't discussed Ryan Poehling, and that's because he probably won't move the needle much in fantasy leagues. Although he burst onto the scene with a hat-trick NHL debut for Montreal, he's settled into a depth role over the past few years and will probably continue seeing more defensive deployment with the Ducks.
Players this could help:
Trevor Zegras: solely for the fresh start; Philly isn't an ideal landing spot for his fantasy value. Fit between coach and player is a gamble, but since most fantasy managers will be apprehensive of the coaching fit + Zegras' injury history, he could end up underrated in fantasy drafts.
Cutter Gauthier: less competition for ice-time/PP deployment
Players this might hurt:
Tyson Foerster/Bobby Brink: Assuming Zegras gets PP1 deployment instead of one of them.