Zegras has already emerged as the Flyers' most important offensive player. Is it too soon for a long-term commitment?
The Philadelphia Flyers traded for Trevor Zegras hoping he would be a piece of their winning puzzle, and so far, he's been even better than advertised.
Zegras, 24, almost single-handedly dispatched the New York Islanders on Saturday afternoon, recording his first two Flyers goals, an assist, and a shootout goal to help push Philadelphia to a comeback 4-3 win.
With that effort, Zegras is now up to two goals, six assists, and eight points in eight games this season, which (prematurely) puts him on pace for an 82-point season.
And, even if he can't sustain or exceed this pace for a full year, it's looking quite likely that Zegras matches or exceeds his previous career-high 65 points, set in the 2022-23 season with the Anaheim Ducks.
The Flyers have been surprisingly good defensively this year, even when accounting for Zegras's perceived lack of defensive impact and the drop-off in talent on the defense after the first two pairings.
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Offense, on the other hand, has been a bit of a concern and a question mark, but Zegras has done his part, no questions about it.
The former No. 9 overall pick had one power play goal and four power play points in 57 games with the Ducks last year, but he's already up to one power play goal and three power play points in eight games with the Flyers.
Of course, the allure of putting him at center was what brought the Flyers to Zegras, but he's shown willing and capable of playing center and wing. The early results show Zegras is willing to do what is asked of him when he's contributing to winning and being treated fairly.
And, that's exactly why the Flyers ought to sign their big trade acquisition to a contract extension as soon as it makes sense for both sides.
The 24-year-old is a restricted free agent at the end of this season and currently carries a cap hit of $5.75 million, but if his hot start to the season has taught us anything, it's that this number will jump a good amount by the summer.
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Realistically, the Flyers should have no issues doling out something in the region of $8- or $9 million to Zegras, which would make him either the highest-paid or second-highest-paid Flyers player, depending on the final AAV.
Heading into 2026, the Flyers won't have too many big-ticket free agents to re-sign; Zegras is actually the top priority there.
Other names who could hit the market include Bobby Brink, Sam Ersson, and Nikita Grebenkin, who are RFAs under team control, as well as Christian Dvorak, Nick Deslauriers, Adam Ginning, and Noah Juulsen.
Now, that all said, the Flyers do have some incentive to wait things out and see how Zegras performs heading into the spring, but if both sides feel the fit is right, it wouldn't be surprising to see something done by the Olympics or before the March 6 NHL trade deadline.
Through the first month of the 2025-26 season, Zegras has established himself as the Flyers' most offensive player while Travis Konecny and Matvei Michkov struggle, and that is certainly something worthy of a commitment at some point in the near future.