Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers Acquire Trevor Zegras: Immediate Reaction
The Philadelphia Flyers sent a message on Monday when they acquired Trevor Zegras from the Anaheim Ducks—that message: Danny Briere is not messing around.
Zegras is one of the more interesting young players out there. There are many reasons why teams were trying to acquire him, just as there were reasons to avoid it. Pros and cons are real, but in my own opinion, the good outweighs the bad.
It will be an interesting yet exciting fit having Zegras in Philadelphia.
So, before the dust even settles, here is my immediate reaction to the Trevor Zegras trade.
Read More: BREAKING: Flyers Trade For Trevor Zegras
Initial Reaction to the Trevor Zegras Trade
The Flyers Got Away With Highway Robbery
Look, Trevor Zegras may not have the same value that he did after his first two full seasons in the league. A brilliant young player with high levels of skill and two 60+ point seasons to start a career would cost a ton to acquire.
However, as mentioned earlier in the day, injuries have plagued the early career of Zegras, causing him to miss significant time the past two seasons. He has not quite returned to his former form.
However, that does not mean that the high-skilled, electrifying player is not still there. In fact, the potential is still very much there, and that is known. I thought it would have taken a late first to start the conversation. Instead, the Flyers landed the young forward for a bottom-six role player, a mid-second-round pick, and a future fourth-round pick. To me, that feels like a fleece job.
Putting things into perspective–a second-round pick does not have as much value when you are sitting on four of them. It is very easy to part with that. A future fourth is not a needle mover either.
With that, all things considered, this was an absolute steal for the Flyers.
Zegras is a Low Risk, High Reward Player
These are the sort of trades GMs dream about. You take a very low risk on a player who could pan out to be a very high reward player.
As we touched on earlier, it did not cost a whole lot to trade for Trevor Zegras. He did not cost the Flyers a top prospect or even a first-round pick. The Flyers traded assets that they had a surplus of.
To further mitigate the risk, Zegras is not under contract beyond this year, so if the move does not pan out, the Flyers can let him walk and receive the RFA compensation. If he does pan out, then the Flyers can extend him. If they’re unable to extend him, they can always match any offer sheet he receives. Pretty low risk contract-wise as well.
If the change of scenery can help bring Zegras back to what he was, a 60-point center with untapped potential and high skill, that is everything the Flyers have been looking for. The skill has never been a question with Zegras. The potential has always been there–the sky is still the limit for this kid.
This was an absolute masterclass for Briere.
So, the Flyers Got a C BEFORE the Draft
Here is where things get fun.
The NHL Draft is four days away. With what the Flyers have down the middle, it seemed pretty sure that a center would be the top priority for the No. 6 pick, even if he wasn’t the best player available.
With the Flyers trading Ryan Poehling, it seems pretty likely that they will return Trevor Zegras to center, where he primarily played during his two 60-point seasons. So, with that, the Flyers now have a new top-six center, likely to play 2C minutes.
Does that mean it grows even more likely that Porter Martone could be a real possibility with the No. 6 pick? Zegras fills the immediate need for a center, which could open the door for the Flyers to go BPA at No. 6, and select a center that needs more development time with No. 22, or trade up.
With the organization getting Zegras, unless they view him as a winger, it opens the door pretty wide to draft a player like Martone.
Read More: Final Flyers Mock Draft: Mocking the Whole First Round
Completing the Gauthier Trade
Now that the Flyers have made yet another deal with the Ducks, we can look at it like Briere completing the Cutter Gauthier Trade. So, all together, it looks like this:
PHI Gets: Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, 2025 2nd Round Pick (40) (ANA)
ANA Gets: Cutter Gauthier, Ryan Poehling. 2025 2nd Round Pick (45) (CBJ), 2026 4th Round Pick (PHI)
In all honesty, that makes trading Gauthier a lot more manageable, and the return looks a heck-of-a-lot more even now.
Overall Feeling
Overall, Flyers fans should be feeling pretty good about the trade.
For one, it shows that Danny Briere is not sitting around, letting the rebuild naturally occur. He is taking calculated risks to make the team better in the near future. To me, it was a very good trade.
The Flyers still have plenty of cap space to have some fun this offseason and have the chance to legitimately compete for a playoff spot next year. Keeping all three first-round picks and only trading one second-rounder will not limit the team’s ability to continue its aggressiveness in the draft or even in the coming days. I would not expect Briere to be done wheeling and dealing.
If this is the first trade that the Flyers make, I will be interested to see how Briere can top this.
Read More: PhHN Daily: NHL Draft Growing Closer; Conflicting Reports; Trade Targets
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Good points. They desperately needed someone who could be their top center, and now they have that in Zegras, and he’s still young. 60+ point potential if he can stay healthy, but what they gave up makes it a low risk and possible great reward. You need to build not only through drafts but with good trades and FA signings. Happy with this move; hope more to come.
Hope DB can get Utah’s 4th pick……York and the 6th pick may do it…then Hagens or Frondell should be there for them…..plus save $4 or 5M under the cap with York’s RFA contract.
You need to build not only through drafts but with good trades and FA signings.
I couldn’t agree more. But the memorable trades are when a team trades for an impact player. This is “a Hope & a Prayer” type of situation, not a clear and obvious move for an established / quality player that will have an immediate impact. I haven’t seen Briere make any type of transaction where that is the case. On the contrary, he’s been a massive disappointment. The return for Frost & Farabee was a joke. He kept HALF of Laughton’s salary and couldn’t finagle more than a second tier prospect. He swapped first rounders with EDM for no additional juice… Not exactly blowing my socks off. I don’t see how this team is better than the day he took over.
Frost and Farabee were consistently inconsistent and they continued their treadmill quality with the Flames. The Laughton trade also got them Toronto’s first round pick in 2027, not just Pelletier.
Toronto trade was for Grebenkin, not Pelletier. He came over in that dreadful Frost & Farabee trade. I think those two former first rounders (Frost & Farabee) had a lot more value than a bag of pucks & vegetable lasagna (Pelletier hasn’t be resigned). Kuzmenko actually had some chemistry here and he was shipped for basically a third in 2027 while retaining half the salary. Again, the return was nada all things considered. I don’t see how any of these trades are helping the this team in 2025-26 or 2026-27 or even 2027-28.
Danny gets a cumulative A for his trades thus far. You did not like the Laughton trade? They got a 1st and a B prospect for him btw. Looks like there was some confusion there.
I did not like the Laughton trade. He was a coveted piece at the trade deadline and I assumed he’d fetch more as Laughton wasn’t merely a rental. To add, Danny Boy retained HALF the salary. The 1st rounder was nice, but that doesn’t arrive until 2027. By the time that prospect hits the NHL it will be 2030. At some point, you need to bring in NHL ready players. I would have made the deal only with Easton Cowan as part of the package.
The EDM trade was a joke. The return for Farabee & Frost was anemic. Letting Buium slip away was a mistake. I think he gets a rock solid D+.
Yeah idk about that. An unprotected first and a B prospect for an aging 4th line center/3rd line winger is pretty damn good, retention or not. Getting the first in 2027 was strategic. He wants future firsts as deadline assets when the team is ready to add. Trading Laughton for Cowan was extremely unrealistic. Risto would have had to have been involved.
Frost was the cost of getting off Farabee’s contract, and being able to squeeze a second out of that was impressive. The EDM trade was questionable, but they didn’t lose position from it so it’s not a huge deal imo. Giving Danny a D grade is a bit extreme.
Aging? Everyone is aging. Laughton was 30 at the time of the trade. In today’s world, that’s prime (AND he still has a year left on his deal). Brock Nelson (while more of a point producer) fetched a first and the top prospect in Colorado’s system. And he was a rental! A rental!!!!
Strategic getting a 2027 first rounder??? At some point they need to put players on the ice. Shuffling players for future picks has a limit. That 2027 first rounder will be in the NHL when TK11 is 33 and Tippett is 31 (aging according you).
Lose position in the EDM draft… THAT is your assessment?!?!?!!? When in the history of the NHL has a team moved up in the draft and NOT added something to sweeten the deal? I’ve literally never heard or seen that in my life before.
Passing on Buium will likely bite him in the arse as well. Nothing against Luchanko, but I feel like his ceiling is Laughton Part II.
Yes, D+ is where Danny Boy lands.
Trade up to two and take misa for #6, York and brink
Grier will probably want Tippett ilo of Brink.
Great move! Now, let’s talk about grabbing one of the 4, top tendy’s, (non-international), coming out this year!
While I enjoy the enthusiasm, I don’t quite see it the same way. The whole “the Flyers got a center before the draft” is a bit a reach. Fact is that they LOST a center and a very good one at that. Poehling has developed into the one of the league’s better shut-down centers. To add, he’s cheap. Sure, the upside of Zegras is appealing, but that’s a hefty contract that Danny Boy just gobbled up. To add, I feel like this is robbing Peter to pay Paul. Danny shipped out Frost and now I feel like we’re right back where we started – a projected second line center that has been a major disappointment. At least there is only one year left on Zegras’s deal. Perhaps a change of scenery works in everyone’s favor and Zegras returns to his rookie and sophomore form. In summary, it certainly isn’t a terrible move, but I am not nearly as enthusiastic as the author. Poehling is a known and inexpensive quantity. Zegras is the exact opposite.
Poehling is a solid 4th line center with 3rd line upside who can also play wing if need be. Zegras is a solid 2C who has 1C potential and could possibly have Michkov and TK as his linemates.
If by some chance Zegras doesn’t fit into the culture here, he can be flipped at the deadline since he’s on an expiring contract.
TZ should fit with Tocc….probably would not have fit with Torts. Tocc witnessed him enough in the West so he knows what kind of a player he is.
Martone would be an excellent choice for us. He big and plays like a Flyer but I’d use him as a back up choice and GO AFTER MISA. We have the assets to get it done. We have a chance to get a killer player who’s skills are as good as Michkov. Put those two together along with Zegras let the nightmare for the NHL goalies begin!!!!
This is the closest we will get to getting another star player like Michkov. We were lucky to get him. There is no luck here we have the assets and players to get it done. Oh and guess who holds the pick? Our favorite trading partner San Jose. They have made it known they are shopping the pick. Danny has great negotiations skills with them. The Zegras deal proved that. So that shows we have the real chance at moving up to get Misa. Danny and Keith don’t Blow this chance. This move will solidify the center position and bring a potential super star into our fold. Even if Misa puts up half of his stats in the NHL it will be top tier points.
Closing I’d like to say I’m a Flyers fan from the beginning of the franchise. So I know when a great chance is there. This is one of them. But it all comes down to whether Danny and Keith see it. To them I say “Please!” help my Flyers and do this.
I was going to add this transaction on the Gauthier trade as well. Because, we don’t know if Drysdale we pan out? So, it definitely helps out if the Zegras trade is looked at as not giving much up?! Maybe, the Ducks are planning more moves and wanted the cap space and pulled the trigger?! What if Briere is also exploring Konecny trades before that long term contract kicks in?
Highly doubt TK is on the move. The team values him. Plus, for what we know TK can do, his contract is relatively friendly, especially with the cap jump