Trevor Zegras: The Allure, the Slow Start and the Possibility of a Trade
The Anaheim Ducks have reportedly listened to teams about Trevor Zegras. Tony Ferrari breaks down his game and what has turned into an intriguing – yet befuddling – storyline to watch.
He’s been on the cover of the NHL video game, produced some of the best highlights in hockey in recent years and become the face of uber-skilled fun hockey.
So with his name appearing in trade speculation, why would the Anaheim Ducks even consider moving on from Trevor Zegras just before his 23rd birthday?
To start, a down statistical year has played a big role. Injured at the moment, Zegras has just four goals and seven points through 20 games this season. He hasn’t quite been his dynamic self with any level of consistency. This comes after notching 61 and 65 points in his first two seasons.
Zegras was an RFA this past summer, and the negotiations were a bit contentious, lasting through most of training camp. The Ducks finally got a deal done with their young star on Oct. 2, less than two weeks before the start of the regular season. Although he was working out in New York before signing, missing that much of training camp set him up for a slow start.
We’ve seen how much missing training camp can affect a player in the past with other players as well.
William Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs signed his deal hours before the deadline to sign during the 2018-19 campaign. He then had a terrible season that remains an outlier in his career, with 27 points in 54 games. Vancouver Canucks star Elias Pettersson got off to a slow start in 2021-22 after missing training camp before getting hot in the second half of the year to salvage what could have been a brutal season. Nylander and Pettersson sit inside the NHL’s top 10 scorers this season.
Trevor Zegras started slow and then suffered a lower-body injury. He returned and got into eight games, collecting five of his seven points in the span before suffering a broken ankle that required surgery in early January. The injury timeline should see him return to action in early March, which coincidentally lines up with the NHL’s trade deadline of March 8.
When assessing this situation, the biggest question is, “What exactly is Trevor Zegras?”
The flashy forward is a machine in transition and finds a way to constantly involve himself in moving the puck out of the defensive zone and into the offensive zone. He uses his speed and agility to gather pucks low in the defensive zone and then bursts up ice. His puckhandling through the neutral zone allows him to bob and weave through traffic as if it were a cone drill at times.
That said, his defensive play in his end can leave much to be desired when he isn’t just retrieving pucks and moving them up ice. He isn’t a fully engaged player battling along the walls or defending physically. He is more of an opportunistic player who can make you pay for mistakes by counter-attacking with speed.
Zegras’ most value comes in the offensive zone where he can put his otherworldly skill on display. His name has almost become synonymous with the lacrosse goal, pulling it off more efficiently and seamlessly each time he’s done it. He even turned the threat of him doing it into playmaking opportunities as he’s flipped the puck over the net for a teammate.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QAIDnaYGpM[/embed]
His highlight-reel goals generate a ton of buzz, but his playmaking is his bread and butter. Zegras has excellent vision and awareness in the offensive zone, seeing passing lanes as they develop and hitting the hole with his passes at just the right time. That crafty passing and puckhandling ability has made Zegras a difference-maker in his first couple of full NHL seasons.
All of this high-end potential and elite puck skill are fantastic when it comes to selling jerseys and putting butts in seats. When you go to the rink and know that at any given moment, you have the chance to see the goal of the year or a play that you’ll be bragging to your friends about seeing live, it makes for a fun time.
That same upper-echelon puck skill and uber-creative style of play have drawn criticism over the last year or so.
Former TV analyst and current Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella criticized his over-the-net flip pass to Sony Milano for a highlight-reel goal, questioning if that kind of play was good for the game. Hall of Fame forward Adam Oates said he’s trying to help take the “Instagram skill” out of Zegras’ game.
While the greater hockey community, especially the younger fans and media, seemed to think it was a case of the older generation being mad at fun and the slow deterioration of the game they used to know, there is something to simplifying the game to become more effective at times. Almost every hyper-skilled player in junior or college hockey has had to learn what they can and can’t do at the professional level.
The thing about Zegras, though, is that he was finding success while playing his style of game. Was some of it going to mature out of his game naturally? Of course, but that takes time – time that a 22-year-old hasn’t had yet.
That brings us back to why Anaheim would even consider trading their young, budding star. They have a very solid young core of talent coming up the pipeline, particularly at forward and down the middle.
The Ducks took Leo Carlsson second overall in the 2023 NHL draft and Mason McTavish third overall in 2021. They’ve established themselves as the top-six centers of the future. Anaheim also just traded for 2022 fifth overall pick Cutter Gauthier, who is one of the top prospects outside of the NHL. Troy Terry, 26, is the veteran of their core of forwards, and he’s traditionally been Zegras’ running mate when both are healthy.
Carlsson, McTavish, and Gauthier all bring a physical element to the game on top of their top-six offensive skill. Terry challenged 40 goals a couple of years ago. One would think that adding – or keeping – Zegras into that young group of impressive forwards would make Anaheim one of the most dangerous teams for years to come.
Alas, the Ducks seem to be at least listening to teams about Zegras – not necessarily shopping him but not slamming the door on any club asking about him, either. If they do move the insanely skilled potential offensive dynamo, they will surely get a huge package back. That begs the question: why trade Zegras and kick the can down the road, hoping a prospect or draft pick they get in return can fill a role as a dynamic presence in their top six, when they already have Zegras? His $5.75-million cap hit through the 2025-26 season is more than manageable and gives them time to truly evaluate the talent level of a player they invested a top-10 pick on.
As befuddling as this situation may be, it has become one of the most interesting storylines in hockey this season.
Is the slump temporary, with missing training camp and injuries playing a role? Has Zegras been “figured out” by the league? If the Ducks move him, will they regret trading him, or will they be happy that they got out from the circus that his talent and persona bring? Or will they think the speculation was all over the top, and they keep Zegras and see him bring his game to another level?
Only time will tell, but as we approach the NHL trade deadline in less than two weeks, the Trevor Zegras saga will be among the top narratives to follow.