The Flyers are nearing a deal to acquire forward Trevor Zegras from the Ducks, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Anaheim will receive center Ryan Poehling, the Blue Jackets’ 2025 second-round pick (No. 45 overall), and Philadelphia’s 2026 fourth-rounder in return, Friedman adds. The Flyers have since made the trade official.
That’s a relatively quick ascent from Friedman’s report under two hours ago that the Ducks were in deep talks with multiple clubs on a Zegras move. While it didn’t appear anything was particularly imminent at the time, that’s now changed.
While Zegras has spent the past two seasons mostly on the wing, he’ll presumably shift back to his natural center position in Philadelphia. The Flyers have been on the hunt for a young, established NHL center with a top-six projection for a while now. They were previously connected to pending Wild RFA Marco Rossi, but his cost uncertainty and desire for a long-term deal made those talks stall. Instead, they’ll opt for a player with a slightly riskier projection in Zegras, but land someone signed through next season at a cheaper cap hit than what a Rossi contract would have cost them.
Injuries have robbed Zegras of nearly half his potential workload over the past two seasons in Anaheim since signing a three-year, $17.25MM contract in 2023. He’s had just an 18-29–47 scoring line in 88 games during that time, but still averaged over 17 minutes per game and saw his defensive performance improve significantly this past season with positive relative possession numbers in less sheltered offensive deployment at even strength.
That offensive regression was still highly disappointing considering how Zegras burst onto the scene. In his first two full NHL campaigns, Zegras hit the 20-goal and 60-point marks on both occasions and finished as the Calder Trophy runner-up to Moritz Seider in 2022. It looked like he was fully set to hit on the upside the Ducks thought he had when selecting him ninth overall in 2019, but his subsequent injuries and contract stalemate two years ago threw that plan off course.
He now gets a fresh start in Philly for an acquisition cost that Flyers general manager Daniel Brière certainly won’t lose any sleep over. While Poehling was a high-end fourth-line piece for them, they have plenty of internal replacement candidates for that role and still have three second-round choices in this year’s draft after dealing away the Columbus pick.
While it’s an underwhelming return for the Ducks considering where his value and projection were two years ago, it’s presumably more than they could’ve gotten him had they cut bait following Zegras’ 15-point showing in just 31 games in 2023-24. They also gain $3.85MM in cap space and more roster flexibility among their top-nine forwards as they pursue a major free agent addition this summer.
Giving Zegras top-six minutes will allow names like Bobby Brink and Noah Cates to serve in more comfortable third-line minutes in Rick Tocchet’s first season as head coach. Whether the high-ceiling playmaker gets deployed on a unit with 2023 No. 7 overall pick Matvei Michkov out of the gate remains to be seen, but his pickup suddenly offers Tocchet a much more offensively dynamic center-winger duo than he could have otherwise constructed.
While Zegras is entering the final year of his contract, he’ll be a restricted free agent in 2026 and still has another year of team control left after that. Swapping out Poehling for Zegras does drop the Flyers to a still-comfortable $15.1MM in available cap space with notable RFAs Jakob Pelletier and Cameron York still to sign and two other roster spots to fill, per PuckPedia.
Poehling actually had a standout offensive showing in 2024-25, posting a career-best 12-19–31 scoring line in 68 games while averaging 13:53 per game. He was nonetheless expendable with Cates recently receiving an extension and 2024 first-rounder Jett Luchanko pushing for an NHL job next year. He also shot at a 16.9% rate that will presumably regress in Anaheim.
He’s still a solid bottom-six pickup for the Ducks, even if the futures they’re receiving are underwhelming. He’s a 2026 UFA at a cap hit of just $1.9MM and could be flipped at the deadline for a decent return if things don’t pan out the way Anaheim hopes they will next year. He’s a short-term upgrade down the middle over a name like pending RFA Isac Lundeström and could push him or someone like Ryan Strome to a spot on the wing.
Image courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images.
Better be right about this one, Danny.
Why he gave up next to nothing for a guy who could feed Michkov for a long time to come
They’ve been talking about trading for him for years. The asking price before IIRC was at least 1 first and a good player. I’m just happy it only cost us what it did in this trade and they didn’t do it with Torts still around.
He’s not a Tocchet type of player. Tocchet coaches defensive orientated hockey. By 3/4 way through next season he’ll be in the press box, unless Tocchet can get him to be defensively responsible…
Tocchet is going to fail here if he is that strict about players all being defensive oriented. Michkov will never be defensive oriented either. Giving him a change of situation he might have a chance though to improve on those things play wise.
Why would Briere bring in a player who is a non-Tochett type player? You’d hope the coach and GM are starting out on the same page. If not……
He did it in Van and Arizona. You watch, defensive minded, clogged up neutral zone, dump and forecheck. It wont be pretty, you’ll get into playoffs but not that far, then year 2 the honeymoon will be over.
You will have to ask him why
@kiwimlbfan. That’s exactly what the ducks were under Cronin, and zegras dropped off. Also i dont think he likes hard nosed old school coaches.
The price?
What a mediocre package. Anaheim must have more washed Rangers they are looking to add
Freeing more salary for FA is my guess
Is he even a center when his FO% was 40%?
Teams are trying to move him to the wing per Marco D’Amico, that’s kind of why the Habs trade with the ducks did not go through last year, they were gonna puy him on the wing. (That and they got Demidov). Flyers might put him at center tho.
He might be the top line center to start the season Philly
Love it as a Flyers fan. Zegras hasn’t reached his potential & cost them very little imo. Well done Danny! He gets a lot of heat but he’s done a nice job accumulating assets & opening cap space in just a couple yrs. The start of a nice offseason!
Given his last two years and the fact that he only has one year left on his deal, the two picks given up would seem sufficient. Without knowing how (or if) he’ll rebound, it would appear to be an overpay.
He’s still an RFA after this deal for Philadelphia
That’s not a bad price to pay at all for a pretty good buy low(ish) option. I could see him putting it together still.
Fair trade, but I thought Zegras would get more from a panic buyer. Good to see Philly doing literally anything for the first time in a while. Now they just need a goalie; Fedotov and a low 1st for Merzlikins?
Demko for Zegras and a 1st
They should be receiving picks to take on Elvis, not paying them.
Way too much for a rental with a shot knee.
Nobody on earth is trading that much for Demko. Vancouver signed a career AHL goalie to a 5×4 that tells you all you need to know about Demko
Yeah this does feel a bit light. If there were lots of teams legitimately interested this does feel a bit weak and favoring quantity over quality. Not a big fan of Zegras but seems like they should have gotten more.
Zegras has ALOT to prove, Right now he’s a 3rd line center.
Zegras makes 5.9 mil
Poehling makes 1.9mil
Both are UFAs at the end of the season
Zegras isn’t an UFA until 28
hes an RFA at the end of this year
Wondering if Jett Luchanko can play in the AHL this coming year. I know he had a couple games up this year, but that was after his Jr year ended.
I don’t think he grabs a full-time NHL spot yet……..we will see.
He cannot. He’s got an August birthday – he’s still 18!
I liked Poehling and he came cheap. The Flyers went into a nosedive after he got concussed against the Islanders.
I’d much rather have Poehling than Zegras. Hate this trade for the flyers, and as a kraken fan, also the Ducks. Zegras is more a persistent liability than a latent superstar.
Verbeek owed the Flyers after pawning off that injury prone bum Jamie Drysdale to them!!
Gauthier, Poehling, and 4th for Drysdale and Zegras.
Ouch
Trevor Zegras needed a change of scenery badly. Ryan Poehling was already being tossed around as a potential trade candidate. In the end, the deal seems fair for both Philadelphia and Anaheim.
Well, at least Zegras and his buddy Drysdale are reunited.
Are they buddies?
Google Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale and you’ll have your answer.
I realize zegras isn’t perfect, but that return is crap
Too bad Zegras could not have coached by Torts!!!
Probably would have been good for both of them lol
Look Kevin Adams misses out another good opportunity. But don’t worry Sabres fans we can count on acquiring future draft picks, a couple of minor leaguers and a nice bag of pucks for our trade available players. Zegras would have been a nice fit but too late now. What a joke
Should be an interesting relationship between the entitled pretty boy, Zegras, And Rick Tocchet.
Ducks just pawning their injury prone but super talented players to the Flyers. Drysdale certainly looks like he didn’t pay off for Gauthier but I think Zegras has a better shot with Michkov
Do the Flyers still need to draft a top drawer center prospect with the #6 overall pick?
I look at the return differently.
1. This opens up a hole in the top 6 for outside help
2 give the Ducks a veteran solid player for the third line
3 clears out 4 million in cap space. Makes the Kreider deal look like a 2.5 mill buy.
4 the ducks have spent just 2.5 mill in cap space and added two very serviceable veterans who combined will put up more points that Zegras and be more healthy.
5 adds 2 players with way more grit. Playoff experience and proven scoring to a team trying to make the next step. For a player that is inconsistent and injury prone and a head case
The Flyers suck. This is a low risk high reward for a mid second and a high 4th and a player that you were not going to retain anyway. If he can stay healthy the Flyers top line will be exciting and a combined -75
I don’t see why the Flyers can’t still be in on Rossi.
Can’t wait to see how the Philly faithful like their new guy, and vice-versa. Yikes x uh-oh.
I despise the Flyers, but it is a good pickup for them. Zegras is the most talented player in the deal, and he still has upside, assuming he can put it together again. If he doesn’t work out, they didn’t lose anything they can’t replace easily.
I like it for the Ducks too. Zegras didn’t have a home there and Poehling is a better option for a bottom six role.
Z and Drys will both be on IR before long.
More money to sign Marner now and possibly another top UFA.
I don’t see Zegras as a fit there. Not convinced he’s any better a fit than Frost wasn’t.
a good player in desperate need of a change in scenery.. worth a fourth liner and giving the ducks back their second round pick