Updated Offseason Trade Landing Spots for Ducks Forward Trevor Zegras
Despite the best efforts of Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek, Trevor Zegras continues to pop up in the trade rumor mill.
Zegras is an immensely talented young center who had become one of the NHL's most exciting players. But the 2023-24 season was a lost year for him due to a delayed contract signing in restricted free agency, an ankle injury and a lack of progress in his overall game.
As talented as Zegras is with the puck, he still has some warts away from the puck. It's unclear when—or if—those elements of his game will develop.
The Ducks have a strong core of young talent, and Zegras is still a part of that for now. He still has two years remaining on a contract worth $5.8 million annually.
That should also make him an attractive trade target for teams needing a potential young impact player. So as long as his name is still surfacing in trade buzz, let's take a look at some potential options this offseason.
Anaheim Ducks: No Trade
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This remains the most logical outcome for the Ducks at the moment. Even if they ultimately decide that Zegras doesn't fit their long-term plans, this might not be the best time to make that trade.
Given how disappointing Zegras' 2023-24 season was, his trade value might be at its lowest. That is not the time to trade a 23-year-old forward who has already shown 60-point ability and still has two years left on his contract.
The Ducks are not facing a salary-cap crunch, so they don't need to jettison his contract, either.
If the Ducks eventually do want to trade Zegras, they should let him build his value back up over the next year and take another run at it at the trade deadline or next offseason.
Montreal Canadiens
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The Montreal Canadiens have consistently been one of the teams mentioned when Zegras' name is brought up in trade speculation.
It would certainly be an interesting fit.
The Canadiens are going through a significant rebuild and are still quite a few years away from taking a serious step toward contention. They have a strong core of young players to build around with Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovský already in place, not to mention another top-five pick this season and the No. 26 overall pick from Winnipeg.
That No. 26 pick could give them a potential trade chip to dangle, while Zegras could fit a second-line center role behind Suzuki and give the Canadiens a potentially dynamic 1-2 punch down the middle.
The Canadiens need as much talent as they can get at this point. If Zegras really is available, he would be an ideal fit for what they need in both the short and long term.
Washington Capitals
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The Washington Capitals bounced back in a big way this season to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They'll likely have that expectation again heading into the 2024-25 season, especially with Alex Ovechkin still chasing Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring record.
To get back there and win a game this time, they'll need more from their centers. Nicklas Bäckström's career seems to be over, while Evgeny Kuznetsov is now playing in Carolina.
Dylan Strome gave the Capitals nice production this season, and Connor McMichael still has some upside, but they could use more depth and another potential game-breaking player.
Zegras could not only help the Capitals in the short term, but he is still young enough to be a long-term answer as part of the inevitable rebuild that is awaiting them in the coming years.
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Chicago Blackhawks
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With Connor Bedard already establishing himself as one of the NHL's next great stars, the time has arrived for the Chicago Blackhawks to start adding some serious talent around him.
The Blackhawks have the No. 2 pick in this year's draft and will have a chance to land another potential franchise player. They're also swimming in salary-cap space and draft capital this offseason.
If there were a team in the league that might be an ideal fit for Zegras in terms of need, time frame, draft capital to trade and salary-cap space, Chicago might be it.
Zegras likely wouldn't make the Blackhawks a playoff team this season—no one player in the league would—but they have to start taking a big step in the standings so they can contend for a playoff spot in 2025-26 when Bedard still has one more year on his entry-level contract.
It's best for teams to begin their contention window when their best players are still reasonably cheap. The Blackhawks need to add significant talent this offseason to move toward that level.
Boston Bruins
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There are a lot of potential issues with naming the Boston Bruins as a fit for Zegras.
For one, the Bruins have almost no trade assets at this point. Their draft stock is depleted for this season, their prospect pool is shallow, and they do not have a ton of young NHL players that would be attractive trade chips.
Zegras also does not really fit the Bruins' style of play, which is more geared toward shutdown defense and winning ugly if needed.
Despite all of that, Boston still needs a potential difference-maker at center. It needs somebody who can score goals, create plays and produce offense down the middle.
Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha are fine players and could fill middle-six roles on a contender. But they cannot be the guys leading a Stanley Cup contender at center. Zegras might not be that player at this point in his career either, but he has something that neither Coyle nor Zacha have—the potential to be that type of player.
Maybe the Bruins need to take a wild swing.
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