Ducks Completely Whiff on Trevor Zegras Trade

A few years ago, Trevor Zegras was a cover athlete for NHL 23, one of the game's most electrifying prospects and a human highlight reel for flipping pucks over opposing teams' nets. That highlight has now brought back a lowlight of value. 

Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek hasn't wasted any time this off-season, pulling off his second trade in the past week and a half, but his most recent one raised some eyebrows.

Before trading Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Ryan Poehling, a second-round pick in this year's draft and a fourth-round pick in next year's draft, Verbeek traded for Chris Kreider. Although the 34-year-old Kreider is coming off an injury-riddled season with the New York Rangers, including a hand injury that he's currently dealing with, the trade was a win for Verbeek. Kreider is still a reliable 20-30 goal-scorer who can mentor some of Anaheim's young talent. One of those talents was Zegras before Verbeek gave up on Anaheim's ninth overall selection in the 2019 draft for two low-valued picks and Poehling, a bottom-six center with no offensive or defensive upside.

The idea of Zegras' departure from Anaheim has circulated for some time now, but it's unwarranted, considering that the reasoning isn't entirely his fault. Plain and simple, Zegras hasn't been able to stay on the ice, as he's coming off back-to-back seasons cut short due to injury, which is probably one of the reasons why the Ducks weren't able to snag Philly's first-rounder in this year's draft.

At the same time, why would the Ducks settle for a return like this? Why would Anaheim simply give up on a player such as Zegras, who just a few seasons ago looked to be the game's next most electrifying player? It's just wild to think that a year after the Ducks drafted Zegras, he took the hockey world by storm at the U20 World Junior Hockey Championships with Team USA. He led all players in scoring in that tournament with 18 points in seven games, taking home the MVP award, but the Ducks didn't have the patience for his talent to materialize under good health.

With Zegras' playmaking ability and overall offensive talent, which translated to the NHL with his Michigan plays, many thought they were witnessing a mold of a curly-mulleted Patrick Kane, maybe not to the exact degree, but the creativity was there.