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Philadelphia Flyers center Trevor Zegras reacts after scoring a goal against the Anaheim Ducks (Eric Hartline-Imagn Images)

Flyers’ Trevor Zegras Embracing Team Amid New Belief

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Justin Giampietro | Last updated Jan 7, 2026 4:40 PM ET

For a little while, Trevor Zegras was on top of the world. He was the co-cover athlete of EA SPORTS NHL 23, evidently one of the league’s rising stars after racking up the third-most points among under-22 skaters between 2021–22 and 2022–23 (stat via QuantHockey).

But things quickly changed for the Anaheim Ducks star. Center Leo Carlsson was taken second overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, Greg Cronin became the new head coach, and Zegras’ face-of-the-franchise status vanished. He went from the team’s identity to somewhat of an afterthought on the roster.

A couple of down seasons later, the Ducks shipped him out to the Philadelphia Flyers for pennies on the dollar: they couldn’t even get a first-round pick.

Now on a team that believes in him, he’s sticking it to his former club. Zegras is embracing the Flyers, and the city is paying him the same respect.

Zegras Has Become a Star in Philadelphia

The first half of the Flyers’ 2025–26 campaign has come and gone. Impressively, they find themselves with the sixth-best points percentage in the league, boasting a 22–12–7 record.

Leading the charge in scoring is, fittingly, No. 46. He leads the Orange and Black with 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists) in 41 games. Zegras is playing the best hockey of his career.

Better yet, Zegras is far from an empty-calorie point-getter. According to Hockey Stats, he ranks 41^st among forwards in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), a metric that measures a player’s impact. The 24-year-old is statistically the most valuable forward on a team with the ninth-most points in the NHL.

It’s only a 41-game sample, but Zegras is looking like a star. While there are other reasons for the Flyers’ transformation—their play in net, for example—he has played an essential role.

Game vs. the Ducks Was Personal

For the first time, Zegras played against his former team on Jan. 6, 2026. He didn’t try to hide how much this one meant to him—it was personal.

In the Flyers’ 5–2 victory, he recorded back-to-back goals to turn a deficit into a lead that the team never gave up. His postgame interview was packed with fireworks. When asked about how good it felt to score two goals against the Ducks, he replied, “(Expletive) amazing. (Expletive) amazing.”

On his first tally, he celebrated with a picking-up-the-phone-and-hanging-it-up gesture. He explained, “That’s about how quick the phone call was before,” referring to the call he got alerting him that he was traded from Anaheim last summer.

Officially Philly. pic.twitter.com/M566sJelHs
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 7, 2026

All season long, Zegras has been sticking it to his former club. This one was the dagger—a complete and righteous humiliation.

Long-Term Zegras Extension Is a No-Brainer

This summer, Zegras will be a restricted free agent (RFA). Giving him a long-term extension is a no-brainer.

With the league’s rising salary cap, it’s possible that Zegras and his camp demand something around the eight-figure annual range. After all, a long-term deal would mean you’re getting his physical prime and few, if any, post-prime campaigns.

If that’s the cost, you wouldn’t find too many complaints. Zegras has embraced his new city and is on pace for the first 80-point season for a Flyer since 2018–19 (he was drafted in 2019, mind you). The Flyers have landed themselves a gem.

At least statistically, Zegras has found another gear. Considering his age, this may be just the start of his prime. As opposed to general manager Pat Verbeek and the Ducks, the City of Brotherly Love and its decision-makers believe in No. 46.