While teams like the Ottawa Senators have secured their young core for the future, the Anaheim Ducks front office is dropping the ball with Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, putting their future in question.
There is a never-ending battle all NHL teams go through, but not on the ice. We’re talking about the balancing act that comes when GMs around the league seek to manage their salary cap situation. GMs know they have to pony up big money to certain players on their roster, but to be able to do that, they have to cut costs associated with other players on the team. It’s not always fair, and it’s definitely not always correct, but paying players as little as possible without destroying the organization’s relationship with them is the name of the game.
There is a danger to that payment process, and we’re seeing that danger currently thanks to the Anaheim Ducks and their attempts to get key restricted free agents Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale under contract. The 22-year-old Zegras and the 21-year-old Drysdale are foundational members of the team, yet Ducks GM Pat Verbeek has taken a hard line in contract negotiations, and as training camp unfolded, there was no sense a solution was close at hand.
It would be one thing if Zegras and Drysdale had underperformed as young players, but that’s simply not the case. Zegras led the team in assists (42) and points (65) last season, while Drysdale had a solid rookie year in 2021-22 with 28 assists and 32 points; Drysdale missed all but eight NHL games last season due to a torn labrum in his left shoulder, but as the sixth-overall pick in the 2020 entry draft, he is slated for a huge role on Anaheim’s blueline.
It’s not as if the Ducks are hurting for cap space. Anaheim has more than $16.697 million in space, giving them more than enough room to get Zegras and Drysdale on long-term deals that trade away cap hits in return for the length of contract term. For argument’s sake, let’s say Zegras and Drysdale are seeking three-to-four-year contracts; surely Verbeek could afford to give Zegras a dollar amount in the $5-6-million-per-season range, couldn’t he? That wouldn’t break the Ducks’ financial bank, and would keep Zegras happy until his UFA eligibility rolls around.
Similarly, though Drysdale isn’t as accomplished at the NHL level, young defensemen with his skill, style and attributes have already received big-time paydays in their post-entry-level-contract years. Ottawa’s Jake Sanderson has less NHL experience than Drysdale, and yet the Senators signed Sanderson to an eight-year, $64-million contract extension this summer. That’s one way to ensure cost certainty for the long term. But even if Verbeek wants to see more from Drysdale before committing big bucks and many years to him, there has to be a solution out there that would see Drysdale receive a bridge deal that pays him in the $3-4-million-per-season range.
Instead of finding a way to keep both players happy, Verbeek has taken the confrontational route, and in the process, he could be jeopardizing Anaheim’s long-term relationship with Zegras and Drysdale. This is the opposite of the Senators, who’ve done everything in their power to lock up their core to maximum-term contracts; there’s certainly risk in that approach as well, but most teams have figured out one way or another to keep their young core happy, and the Ducks’ saga with Zegras and Drysdale just seems like it's going to make things worse.
With the start of the season only about a week-and-a-half away, having Zegras and Drysdale on the sidelines is already a sub-optimal situation. With every day that passes without new contracts for the duo, more damage is done to the Ducks’ chances of challenging for the playoffs. Verbeek has the financial wherewithal to end the showdown, but he seems determined to secure two key players to team-friendly deals. That’s nice in theory, but in practice, he could be poisoning the well for two assets he needs dearly in the years ahead.
Saving cap space is one thing, but achieving that goal by fracturing the relationship with cornerstone talents does not seem like a tactic Verbeek’s colleagues have any intent of engaging in. You need your youngsters active, and satisfied on the business end of things if you’re going to have a team capable of a Stanley Cup run, even if that run is a few years down the road. And as it stands, the Ducks are not succeeding on any of those counts.