The Anaheim Ducks have considered a Trevor Zegras trade for a while. At one point, it seemed like the former ninth overall pick was going to be the franchise cornerstone. He looked like the face of the franchise for years to come. Unfortunately, this did not pan out. And on Monday, the Ducks traded Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Anaheim received forward Ryan Poehling, a 2026 fourth-round pick, and the 45th selection in the 2025 NHL Draft. After months of rumor and speculation, the Ducks finally pulled the trigger on moving Zegras. For Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek, this was the best time for his franchise to make this move.

“You start imagining lines and how you want certain players to compliment each other, and we started looking at the scenario and ultimately we made the decision to move Trevor because of that,” Verbeek said, via NHL.com. “I made the trade and I got what I thought we wanted. We're going to continue to look at everything we can to make the (Stanley Cup Playoffs).”

How Flyers plan to use Trevor Zegras

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Zegras brings positional versatility to any team he plays for. The 24-year-old is a natural center, but he can kick over to the wing if his team needs. The Flyers hope he will help them with their own issues down the middle. However, this will be left up to new head coach Rick Tocchet.

“Well, that'll be more a question for (coach) Rick Tocchet. We hope he can help in the center position, because that's obviously an area that we could improve,” Briere said, via NHL.com. “But at the same time, if Rick decides that he's better suited on the wing and there's other guys that play better in the middle, he's going to decide. But we certainly hope that he can help fill the void in the middle.”

The Ducks and Flyers both get something out of this deal. Anaheim adds cap space while moving on from Zegras a year out from restricted free agency. Philadelphia, meanwhile, pick up a potential top-six center. It will certainly be interesting to see how this deal works out for both sides in 2025-26.