The intention to improve the Flyers’ talent at center began on Monday with the acquisition of Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras in a trade for Philadelphia’s Ryan Poehling.
In addition to Poehling, the Flyers also sent the 45th pick in this year’s NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick next year to the Ducks, according to Flyers general manager Daniel Briere.
Zegras, 24, was drafted by the Ducks in 2019, ninth overall, and has gone on to play the last five seasons (2020-25) with the Ducks.
The 6-foot, 185-pound Zegras has recorded 67 goals, 119 assists, and 186 points in 268 career NHL games.
Zegras has played both left wing and center for the Ducks but Briere, mindful of the Flyers’ lack of depth in the middle, believes new head coach Rick Tocchet will opt for the latter.
“That will be a question more for Rick,” Briere said during a media Zoom call. “He’s going to decide where he fits best. We hope he can help in the center position. That’s an area that we can improve.
“But at the same time, if Rick decides he’s better suited on the wing, then he’s going to decide. We hope he can help fill a void in the middle.”
Briere did talk to Zegras about this issue and Zegras confirmed he has a desire to play in the middle. However, there were no final decisions reached just yet.
“Hopefully he can help us out (in the middle,” Briere said. “But at the end of the day, ‘Toc’ will have the final decision.”
Of immediate concern: Whether Zegras can remain healthy. He played in just 88 games over the past two seasons. Among the issues: A serious groin injury plus a broken ankle requiring surgery in the 2023-24 season, and a torn meniscus in his right knee last season.
Also, Zegras was a contract holdout during the 2023-24 training camp which delayed his season start.
During the call, Briere said he has no concerns about Zegras’ health situation. All medical reports were positive.
“Everything was clear,” Briere said. “Nothing to worry about. Nothing that could be an issue moving forward with him.”
The GM was asked about how much the injury situation might have played into Zegras’ availability to be acquired.
“That (the injury situation) was why he was available in the first place,” Briere said. “Top six talent are very rarely available around the NHL. We felt that was a risk worth taking. We’ve seen him in the past. We feel good about him because of what he’s shown in the past. We hope he can find that magic again and take us to another level.”
Briere is aware that current Flyer defenseman Jamie Drysdale is a former teammate of Zegras and asknowledged he spoke with the former Duck backliner before making the deal. Ditto when Cam York was growing up in southern California.
“We’ve very close to our players, we talk to them constantly,” Briere said. “We always try to get news on players they know around the league. We check in with them to get their thoughts, how they feel about certain guys. It’s always helpful to get input from the players. Who’s tough? Who gives a third or fourth effort?”
Zegras was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 2022 and had back-to-back 23-goal/60-plus point seasons in 2021-22 and 2022-23. During the 2022-23 season, Zegras led the Ducks in points (65), goals, game-winning-goals (three), and overtime goals.
He played only 57 regular-season games this past season but still managed to post 12 goals/32 points. He had the fifth-best point per game average on the team at 0.56 and the ninth most points.
Prior to making the NHL full time Zegras, played part of the 2020-21 season with the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League where he registered 10 goals/21 points in 17 regular season games while adding another three playoff games and three points (one goal/three points).
After being drafted, he spent the 2019-20 season at Boston University where he tallied more than a point per game – 11 goals/36 points in 33 games.
The Bedford, N.Y. native has represented the United States on five occasions, most recently at the 2024 World Championships where he tallied one goal and one assist in eight games.
Notably, Zegras also played in the back-to-back World Junior Championships in 2020 and 2021. In 2021 he helped the United States to win gold and was named the tournament’s most valuable player after registering seven goals and 18 points in seven games.
Zegras is going into the final year of a three-year contract which totals $17.25 million ($5.75 million AAV). Are there any plans to extend that deal sometime before it expires?
Briere responded with a “time will tell” answer, which means Zegras will have to “earn” another big-money deal.
Briere said trading one of his three first-round draft picks for Zegras was a definite no-go.
Poehling, 26, spent two seasons with the Flyers. He played 145 games, with 23 goals/59 points. This past season he set a career high with 12 goals in 68 games.
Originally a first-round draft pick of Montreal (25th overall, 2017), Poehling also played one season for Pittsburgh. The Minnesota native has 43 NHL goals.
The Flyers now have three remaining second-round picks for this year’s draft: Nos. 36, 40 and 48.
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