Grading Flyers’ Trevor Zegras Extension

According to Evolving-Hockey, Zegras ranked 49^th among forwards in wins above replacement (WAR) last season and 27^th in expected wins above replacement (xWAR). That’s a fancy way of saying he was fantastic, and his defensive woes—a longtime criticism for him—vanished.

If Zegras can just maintain this level of play over the next four seasons, he will have earned every penny of this extension. He spent most of his time on the wing in 2025-26, but he handled the shift to center ice admirably. It looks as though the Flyers have a legit top-six center at their disposal for the foreseeable future.

The Bad: Flyers Will Have a Big Decision to Make in 2030

The bad news here is that the Flyers will have quite the decision to make in 2030. Perhaps the biggest story of the early offseason was what the Buffalo Sabres were going to do with 30-year-old winger Alex Tuch: sign him to an eight-year term or let him go. They chose the latter, dealing him in a sign-and-trade to the Washington Capitals.

I know it’s far away, but the Flyers will be faced with a similar conundrum in 2030. Tuch, who had a nearly identical stat line to Zegras last season (66 points in 79 games vs. 67 points in 81 games), signed for eight years at $10.5 million annually. If Zegras can maintain his production for four seasons, he could get quite a bit more than that with the league’s salary cap rising as much as it is.

However, we’re talking about four years in the future—Chuck Fletcher was still the Flyers’ general manager four years ago. So, a lot can change between now and then. But this situation will be one to keep in mind.

I’m generally averse to handing out maximum-term contracts to players near their 30s, but the good news is that doing so with Zegras could be somewhat justified. In four years, the Flyers’ 2022 to 2026 draftees—a group that includes Porter Martone and Matvei Michkov—will be between 22 and 26 years old. That’s still pretty young, so you can stomach Zegras showing signs of decline in his mid-30s.

With that being said, though, most of Philadelphia’s young players will still be in their 20s when Zegras is 33 years old—an age when plenty of stars begin to decline. An example that Flyers fans will remember all too well is when Vincent Lecavalier was bought out by the Tampa Bay Lightning at age 33. Having a buyout-caliber player isn’t ideal when you’re trying to win Cups.

Final Grade: B-

I don’t think a four-year deal that sets up Zegras for an astronomical payday at age 29 is worthy of substantial praise or criticism. The Flyers will worry about re-upping this deal or selling high when that time comes.

For now, the Orange and Black have a solid top-six center locked up for the next four years, and at an affordable AAV.