Hockey

Trevor Zegras: the Habs saw him as a winger (and he wasn’t the only one)
Félix Forget
Trevor Zegras: the Habs saw him as a winger (and he wasn’t the only one)
Credit: Getty Images

This morning, Elliotte Friedman reported that Trevor Zegras was a name to watch in the NHL. There was more and more talk about the man who's been the subject of trade rumours for years… and he said it could happen “this week”.

And in the end, it did… an hour later: Zegras headed for Philadelphia.

For the Canadiens, who were in the running for Zegras (and have had him in their sights for some time now), the club must now look elsewhere to add talent to their forward group. They're still looking to surround Ivan Demidov, but Zegras clearly won't be the man for the job.

On the other hand, what we're learning from Marco D'Amico is that the Habs didn't see Zegras as their solution at second center for one simple reason: they see him as a winger (not a center).

And it's not the only one: many other teams do too.

So, in an NHL where just about everyone is looking for reinforcements at the center position, Zegras will have cost… Ryan Poehling, the 45th pick in the next draft and a 4th-round pick a year from now. The Flyers, who see Zegras as a guy who can play center or wing, have sniffed out a bargain.

Try to get a center at that price this summer: the other GMs will laugh at you. The Flyers, on the other hand, took a gamble with a player who could play there, and gave almost nothing in return.

Because while everyone wants center players, it's not the same for wingers. And if the vast majority of the league sees Zegras as a winger, that explains why the market was so poor for his services.

The question now is to see who else the Habs could possibly turn to in order to fill their need at center. Er when you look at the options, you realize that there are very few, if any.

Someone is going to have to make sure that Kirby Dach arrives in shape for the next camp, let's say.


Overtime

– Note to self.

– That's right.

– He'll probably go to the All-Star Game thanks to the GM of a rival team.

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