Earlier this week when the Philadelphia Flyers acquired former 6th overall draft pick Jamie Drysdale and a 2nd round pick from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for former 5th overall pick Cutter Gauthier, there were reports that Drysdale's best pal Trevor Zegras could also be in play on the trade market.
It's no secret that Drysdale and now former Ducks teammate Zegras share a close relationship, so there's plenty of speculation about Zegras' future in Anaheim.
NHL insiders Frank Seravalli and Darren Dreger both reported that Zegras appears to be on the market and that Ducks GM Pat Verbeek is fielding offers on the young, marketable forward.
I've had a couple of teams suggest that Trevor Zegras could be in play," Dreger said on his most recent 'Ray & Dregs Podcast' with co-host Ray Ferraro.
"Zegras isn't everybody's cup of Joe," Ferraro responded. "He's creative, he's high risk..He might not be Anaheim's style and then they'll move him along and get someone that's closer to their style and whoever gets Zegras is going to say, yea, we're really excited to get this creative player."
Meanwhile, Seravalli had a lot more to say on the matter.
From Seravalli's most recent column for Daily Faceoff:
Could Zegras be following Drysdale out the door?
When you look at the prospect base GM Pat Verbeek has put together, the door is open for him to move on from Zegras. The Ducks now have Leo Carlsson, Gauthier, Mason McTavish up front alongside Troy Terry, plus Pavel Mintyukov and Lukas Dostal, and a slew of other names on the way.
Sources say Verbeek has mentioned Zegras’ name in conversation with teams this season, though it remains unclear how far (if at all) those talks advanced. On one hand, it is a bit surprising given Zegras was on the cover of a video game, his infectious personality has been largely the face of the franchise, and he netted two 60-point seasons before the age of 21 on a team without much support.
On the other hand, Zegras doesn’t seem to mesh with the style of play Verbeek envisions for the Ducks. That much was made clear when the Ducks ground Zegras through a tough contract negotiation that resulted in a three-year bridge deal and a missed training camp. (Drysdale also missed most of camp with his negotiation, in which many noted that Verbeek exacted every ounce of leverage possible. Look how that turned out.) The result has been a brutal start to the year for Zegras, who oozes creativity like few players we’ve seen.
Zegras may not have said to Drysdale: “Take me with you.” But it hasn’t been all rainbows and sunshine for ‘Z’ in Anaheim.
- Frank Seravalli
The problem, of course, is that Zegras appeared to be badly injured in a game earlier this week, which would obviously affect the young forward's trade eligibility.
Today, the Ducks confirmed that indeed Zegras will be out long-term with a broken ankle. The team expects him to miss 6-8 weeks as he recovers from the brutal injury.
From the Ducks:
The Ducks have announced the following injury updates on forward Trevor Zegras and defenseman Pavel Mintyukov:
Zegras suffered a broken left ankle in the first period Tuesday night against Nashville. He will undergo surgery in the near future and be out approximately six to eight weeks.
The 22-year-old Zegras has appeared in 20 games this season, collecting 4-3=7 points. He appeared in his 200th career NHL game Tuesday, two nights after scoring twice in a 3-2 loss to Detroit at Honda Center.
Needless to say, that should put an end to any and all Zegras trade rumors... at least for the next couple months, which would put us juuuuuuust past the NHL's March 8th trade deadline.
