Anaheim Ducks Trade Trevor Zegras to Philadelphia Flyers

On Monday morning, the Anaheim Ducks announced that they had traded forward Trevor Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers for Ryan Poehling, the 45th overall pick (which is a 2025 second-round pick held initially by Columbus) and a 2026 fourth-round pick.

There have been rumors of Trevor Zegras being on the move from Anaheim for the past couple of seasons. He had a lengthy and contentious contract negotiation a couple of years back. It took Zegras and Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek right before the season to get him to agree to a three-year bridge deal worth $5.75 million a season.

NHL Rumors: The Anaheim Ducks Are Still Taking Calls on Trevor Zegras

Although former Ducks head coach Greg Cronin had helped Zegras develop his two-way game as a defender, it seemed like Zegras was not going to be with the Ducks for more than this season. Again, Zegras’s name was constantly in trade rumors along with goaltender John Gibson. But on Monday morning, things picked up according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

“According to multiple sources, the Anaheim Ducks are in “significant discussions” with multiple teams on a Trevor Zegras trade, and the likelihood is growing that the talented 24-year-old forward could be traded this week,” Friedman wrote in a quick post on Sportsnet. 

So this trade came together quickly from both the Flyers and Ducks perspectives.

The Flyers are acquiring a player with tremendous upside. The ninth overall pick from the 2019 NHL Draft recorded back-to-back 60-point seasons in 2021-22 and 2202-23. There is no denying the talent is there. However, his last couple of seasons have been interrupted due to injuries. And the Ducks were not sure what they had in him. Was he a center? Was he a winger?

As Zegras heads to Philadelphia, the belief is he will be playing, and that is how the Flyers listed him as such when they made the trade official. During his time with the Ducks, Zegras recorded 186 points (67 goals and 119 assists) in 268 games. He is known for the flashy goals and will learn to develop even more under head coach Rick Tocchet.

NHL Rumors: Does Trevor Zegras Have a Future With the Anaheim Ducks?

It was clear that Zegras was not a Pat Verbeek guy. And despite Verbeek squashing any idea of Zegras leaving at his year-end media availability, he was impressed by how Zegras took Cronin’s words and applied them. But the issue is having a new coach like Joel Quenneville come in and wanting to make the playoffs changes the view on a player. Or just reinforced what most people thought, that he was not going to be there for the long haul in Anaheim.

Verbeek in a press release pretty much said as much: “I want to thank Trevor for his contributions and efforts over the last six years,” said Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek. “While this was a difficult trade to make, we have and will continue to look at retooling our roster over the next couple of months, and this transaction is part of that process. We wish Trevor the best of luck with the Flyers.”

NHL Rumors: Would Anaheim Trade Trevor Zegras?

As far as Poehling goes, the Ducks are acquiring a solid player who can fit into their bottom six as they continue to retool their roster to support Quenneville.

With players like Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Cutter Gauthier, and Brett Leason, Zegras was being passed by on the depth chart, so it made sense from both teams’ perspectives to finalize this deal. Zegras will now join his friend Jamie Drysdale in Philadelphia.

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