The Philadelphia Flyers took a swing in the off-season by acquiring Trevor Zegras, and through eight games, they've witnessed positive returns.
The Philadelphia Flyers are in the midst of a full rebuilding process, as they’ve stripped down their roster and have been focusing on the future.
However, Flyers GM Daniel Briere tried to accelerate the rebuild this summer with the acquisition of NHL veterans, including center Christian Dvorak and goaltender Dan Vladar.
But the biggest Flyers addition in the 2025 off-season was another forward, former Anaheim Ducks star Trevor Zegras. Although Zegras hasn't struggled out of the gate, he came through with a two-goal performance, his first two goals as a Flyer. He also finished three points (as well as a crucial shootout goal) in Philadelphia’s 4-3 shootout win over the New York Islanders on Saturday.
It wasn’t as if Zegras had been struggling prior to Saturday’s game. Beginning in Philly’s second game of the season, he went on a five-game point streak. But following his production against the Islanders, Zegras is now on pace for a 60-assist, 80-point season, totals that would demolish his current career-highs of 42 assists and 65 points (both set in the 2022-23 campaign).
For that kind of offense, the Flyers will be happy to pay Zegras his $5.75 million salary. His current offensive totals also will give Zegras bargaining leverage when he becomes an RFA at the end of the current season. While he needs to be a more consistent point-producer than he was last season, when he posted only 20 assists and 32 points in 57 games with the Ducks, Zegras is now playing on a Flyers team with more polished skill than the Anaheim squad. So his numbers could continue to improve.
Indeed, at 24 years old, Zegras isn't in his prime. And that’s one of the factors Briere was looking at when he dealt forward Ryan Poehling, a second-round draft pick and a fourth-rounder to the Ducks in exchange for Zegras. It’s still early days in Zegras’ Flyers career, but that trade is already looking like a steal for Philly. If Zegras becomes a point-per-game player this season, Briere will gleefully give Zegras a considerable raise beginning next year.
That said, it’s accurate that Zegras was past due for a game like the one he had Saturday. Consistency is the name of the game for Zegras and his Flyers teammates this season. And while Philadelphia may miss the Stanley Cup playoffs this year despite a strong season from Zegras, Saturday’s performance was a good harbinger that Zegras can be a difference-maker for the Flyers.
Briere took a chance on Zegras, but the price was right to acquire him, and Zegras is now showing the trade to Philly was a deft move by the Flyers. Some trades quickly look like disasters, but the opposite is true thus far for Zegras and Philadelphia.
The Flyers gambled on Zegras having a bounce-back campaign, and as we saw Saturday, the bounces are now going in Zegras’ favor. Philadelphia’s resurgence depends on its youngsters coming through in high-pressure circumstances, and although there’s still 90 percent of the season to go, the early returns on Zegras are highly encouraging.
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