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Revisiting the Ryan Poehling-Trevor Zegras Trade
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- Revisiting the Ryan Poehling-Trevor Zegras Trade
The Trevor Zegras era in Anaheim was one full of high highs, but came crashing to earth with an unceremonious thud exactly one year ago today when he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for center Ryan Poehling , a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick.
The Anaheim Ducks drafted Zegras with the ninth overall pick in the 2019 draft, and he'd be the first of seven top-ten selections in consecutive years made by the Ducks through their long rebuild process.
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During two of the darkest years in the Ducks' franchise history, Zegras became one of the faces of the NHL, dazzling with highlight-reel plays on a seemingly shift-by-shift basis. He was the Calder Trophy runner-up in his rookie year of 2021-22, scoring 61 points (23-38=61) in 75 games, and would follow it up with 65 points (23-42=65) in 81 games during his 2022-23 sophomore season.
A lengthy contract negotiation following the expiration of his ELC in 2023 caused Zegras (along with Jamie Drysdale ) to miss the majority of the 2023-24 training camp, the first under then-new head coach Greg Cronin. After a surprisingly difficult start to the season, where he was attempting to play through injury, Zegras landed on IR with a lower-body injury (osteitis pubis) early in the season.
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He would return to the lineup after missing 20 games, only to break his ankle seven games later. He'd finish the 2023-24 season missing a total of 51 games and only scoring 15 points (6-9=15) in 31 games.
Ducks' Zegras learned lots of lessons in tough 2023-24 season
During Zegras' second stint out of the lineup, Jamie Drysdale was traded to Philadelphia, and speculation surrounding Zegras' future with the Ducks began. From there, his name was in trade rumors for the next 18 months until his eventual departure seemingly became an inevitability.
With rumors and speculation swirling for the duration and Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek appearing non-comital toward his talented forward's future with the organization, Zegras totaled 32 points (12-20=32) in 57 games during another injury-riddled 2024-25 season.
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Zegras' hands are only rivaled by his vision and creativity on the ice. His game lacks the pace and intensity that many covet, but by all accounts (including former head coach Greg Cronin), he attempted to tweak and alter his game to fit the club's system and intended direction.
On May 8, 2025, the Ducks hired Joel Quenneville as their next head coach. The system Quenneville intended to and eventually implemented, along with his previous success with comparable stylistic players to Zegras like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Huberdeau , had optimists believing a Zegras bounce-back season with the Ducks in 2025-26 was in the cards.
To add to that notion, on June 12, 2025, five weeks after Quenneville was hired, the Ducks acquired Chris Kreider , an offseason training partner and friend of Zegras. With a new compatible coach and a new compatible teammate, it seemed like Verbeek was making moves to get the most out of Zegras as he was entering his prime NHL years.
Zegras was traded 11 days after Kreider was acquired, and that idea was put to rest for good.
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Zegras, of course, had his bounce-back year with the Flyers, notching a new career high in points by scoring 67 (26-41=67) in 81 games and leading Philadelphia back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-20 season and advancing to the second round.
The Ducks found success of their own in 2025-26, making the playoffs for the first time since 2017-18 with Ryan Poehling playing a huge role on the Ducks' bottom six and penalty kill all season. He was one of their most effective two-way, shutdown forwards and contributed a career-high 36 points (11-25=36) in 75 games and added five more (4-1=5) in 11 playoff games.
Poehling will continue to be a significant part of the Ducks' build toward contention, as on March 5, he signed a four-year contract extension that carries an AAV of $3.75 million.
With the second-round pick acquired in the trade, the Ducks selected forward Eric Nilson (45th overall in 2025), son of former NHL forward Marcus Nilson (48), out of Djurgardens IF in Sweden.
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Nilson played the 2025-26 season for Michigan State in the NCAA, scoring 11 points (3-8=11) in 35 games during his freshman season and adding three points (1-2=3) in seven games for Sweden at the 2026 World Junior Championships, where he won a gold medal. Nilson projects as a competitive, two-way, middle-six center at the NHL level.
Verbeek's cited intention of this trade stemmed from roster construction, as he felt Poehling filled a specific role he was looking for, and Zegras did not. Critics of this trade will reference timing as their biggest gripe.
Ducks GM Pat Verbeek on Trevor Zegras-Ryan Poehling Trade
As the months of trade rumors piled up, it became clear Zegras wasn't in Verbeek's long-term plans for the Ducks. It was also clear from the second that the trade was submitted that Zegras was sold at his lowest possible value after back-to-back seasons of poor production and injury came on the heels of back-to-back 60-plus point seasons to begin his career.
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Those who felt the value was off will suggest Zegras' value could have been increased by playing any number of games under Quenneville. Others will argue his value could have increased by simply waiting a week or two until the dust of the draft and free agency settled. Much like in 2026, the 2025 offseason, whether analyzing the trade or free agency market, didn't provide enough available players for the number of teams looking to add top-six forward talent.
Ryan Poehling had an excellent first year with the Anaheim Ducks and will likely remain an impactful piece on the depth chart through his prime years in the NHL. Ducks assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting Martin Madden compared Eric Nilson to William Karlsson at the time of his draft, and if Nilson reaches 80% of what Karlsson became, the Ducks will be overjoyed.
The snag with this trade will remain timing, as one may have hoped for a more sizable return when moving on from a talented former face of a franchise (and for a brief period of time, a former face of the NHL).
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