The Philadelphia Flyers still haven't managed to fix their center depth, and one of the key cogs they just traded has already found a permanent new home in the NHL.
So far, with one month to go in the 2025-26 season, Trevor Zegras has not taken over as a full-time center as many of us expected in the offseason.
Instead, that role belongs to fellow newcomer Christian Dvorak, with Noah Cates, a declining Sean Couturier, and Carl Grundstrom filling in behind.
Top prospect Jett Luchanko lasted only four games with the Flyers, and Rodrigo Abols is done for the season with a lower-body injury.
With all that in perspective, it's fair to say the Flyers are missing old friend Ryan Poehling, whom they traded to the Anaheim Ducks in the Zegras trade.
And, while the Flyers still appear to have gotten the better end of that trade, they did create a gap in the lineup that's been plaguing them all season. Both things can be true.
On Thursday, Poehling, 27, cashed in on a solid first season in California, signing a four-year, $15 million ($3.75 million AAV) contract to remain with the Ducks.
The ex-Flyers forward has slotted in nicely behind the likes of Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish in Anaheim, and, importantly, does not have any trade protection in his new deal.
Given the state of the NHL trade market over the last few years, that very well could work out in the Ducks' favor in the future.
Poehling has seven goals, 17 assists, and 24 points in 54 games this season in his depth role.
Comparatively, Dvorak, who signed a much more lucrative five-year, $25.75 million extension with the Flyers in January, has trade protection in all but the last season of his deal, sitting at 13 goals, 24 assists, and 37 points in 60 games playing almost top-line minutes almost exclusively with Zegras.
Poehling, with an expanded role and a bit of finishing luck, could be matching or surpassing Dvorak's offensive production, but the Ducks were happy to keep him in a role that matches his skillset and pay him accordingly.
As for the Flyers, the position they're in is very similar to when they had Poehling, looking for what they lost.