If the Philadelphia Flyers are hoping to get the absolute most out of important trade acquisition Trevor Zegras, they need to avoid the mistake the Anaheim Ducks made in each of the last two years before dealing him away.
Publicly, the Flyers haven't committed to Zegras, 24, playing center for them full-time in the 2025-26 season.
But, the former top Ducks draft pick played left wing in each of the last two seasons, scoring just 18 goals, 29 assists, and 47 points in 88 regular season games.
Prior to that, Zegras had reached no fewer than 23 goals and 61 points in his only two full NHL seasons.
This offseason, much of the online discourse has centered around if Zegras plays center, and what happens if he doesn't play center.
Maybe I missed something somewhere along the line here, but there is simply no reason to take Zegras off the center position. How much of a coincidence can it be that a former No. 11 pick enjoyed the two most prolific seasons of his career playing his preferred position?
Faceoffs are a concern, yes; Zegras has cracked a 40% success rate on his draws just once in four seasons as a full-time NHL player.
But, that wasn't enough to hold back Jack Hughes, one of his buddies from the USNTDP, at this level.
In fact, the New Jersey Devils, particularly under the now-departed Lindy Ruff, solved this issue by pairing Hughes with Erik Haula, a defensively-inclined forward who excelled in the faceoff circle and otherwise played on the left wing.
The Flyers can do something similar with free agent signing Christian Dvorak, for example. But it shouldn't be the other way around, where Zegras plays the left wing for someone else.
Between Zegras, Jett Luchanko, and Jack Nesbitt, the Flyers should come away with at least two long-term, top-nine centers to build a contender with.
And, as long as the Flyers don't find themselves overachieving this season, they are still perfectly capable of landing that high-end piece to put the icing on the cake in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Plus, who knows how good Zegras can really be? He approached 70 points on a bad Ducks team in his age-21 season.
The Flyers, somewhat similarly to the Ducks, are finally aspiring to come up from the water and be a decent team.
That opportunity has to be exciting for a guy who got ran out of Anaheim, even after playing out of position for his teammates to try and win games.
