Trevor Zegras is at it again.
The Anaheim Ducks’ star rookie pulled off “The Michigan” on the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night for yet another highlight-reel goal…
On Friday’s edition of "The Daily Faceoff Show," Frank Seravalli shared a clip from the DFO Rundown in which Hall of Famer and NHL skills coach Adam Oates offered his thoughts on why he doesn’t like the move…
Yaremchuk: “Last night, a high note from the NHL schedule was another beauty from Trevor Zegras, pulling off The Michigan. Obviously, it has everyone talking when something like this happens.
"Adam Oates was on the DFO Rundown with yourself and Jason Gregor and him being the skills coaching guru from the NHL, it was fair of us to ask him what he thinks of The Michigan. Here was his take from the podcast.”
Oates: “The Michigan goal I am not a fan of. Even though it takes a tremendous amount of talent, It takes a tremendous amount of talent and I could never do it in the heat of the moment, but what I don’t want guys to do, is you’ve got two teammates out there, so while you’re all of a sudden focused on picking up the puck, you’ve lost perspective of the other guys on the ice right in front of you. You might have a teammate open that you could have fed a backhand pass to.
"The skill is fantastic, and with some of them, I see guys literally putting their heads down to try and trap the puck. Well, the problem with that is, what if one of their defenders is coming around the net to try to get you?
"It’s a cool move, but for me, when I watch guys do it, are you losing perspective of the play while you’re trying to do this Instagram move?”
Seravalli: “Get this man a job on ESPN, because that’s actual analysis.
"John Tortorella, I hope you were watching. None of this talk about this is a hard game and this is a fast game and we need to keep it that way. What Adam Oates said makes actual sense.
"By the way, he is Trevor Zegras’ skills coach. He’s uniquely qualified to answer that question.
"I appreciate the perspective that he brings, and not just his explanation of it, because I followed up, and you can listen to the podcast, one of the truly insightful conversations I’ve ever had about hockey in the 15 years I’ve worked in the space, is the things that Adam Oates brought to the table on Episode 100 on Friday.
"I pushed back and asked ‘what about the vision that Zegras had to see that spot, to get to that hole before a defenseman steps in and hammers him?’
"There’s something to be said for that, but Adam Oates has thing he talks about at length in the pod, his number one goal is to keep players healthy and safe on the ice. So he sees this as not necessarily the best opportunity or option with the puck, which, when you’re working through different nuances of the play, that’s certainly something to consider.
"I appreciate what Adam Oates brings to the table. Let’s get John Tortorella teed up again on what he feels about Trevor Zegras.”
You can watch the full episode here…
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