For all intents and purposes, the Philadelphia Flyers can officially be considered the permanent NHL home of Trevor Zegras, who is enjoying every moment of the new lease on life he’s found in his career.
Zegras, 24, nabbed his 16th and 17th goals of the season playing in his first revenge game against his old Anaheim Ducks, helping guide the Flyers to what was ultimately a dominant 5-2 win.
Poetically, it was former Flyers draft pick Cutter Gauthier who opened the scoring with his 20th tally of the season, only for Zegras’s brace to put the Flyers up 2-1 within the next 10 minutes of play.
“I missed last year’s game, but I heard all about it,” Zegras said of the Flyers-Ducks matchup after the win Tuesday night. “I was fired up to play in this one. The boos were great, but the cheers were even better.”
Now, the former Duck has made a bit of Flyers history, reaching the 40-point mark in only 41 games, becoming the fastest player to reach 40 points as a Flyer since, ironically, Danny Briere, who needed only 39 games back in 2007-08.
Sitting comfortably with 41 points in 41 games, it has become quite clear that Zegras has leapfrogged Matvei Michkov as the star of the show in Philadelphia, though it would be disingenuous to hold that against Michkov.
What’s also clear is that Zegras has found himself a permanent NHL home that is allowing him to flourish and reach his true potential for the first time at this level.
So, how did it feel to take that point and stick it to the Ducks?
“F–king amazing. F–cking amazing,” Zegras said.
Surging Flyers Prospect Ends Dominant World Juniors with Gold Medal
The Philadelphia Flyers have a new gold medalist in their ranks, and he happens to be their hottest prospect at the moment.
And for the phone celebration after one of his two goals?
“That’s about how quick the phone call was before. I thought it’d be good!”
The 24-year-old will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season and, while Briere has said that contract talks haven’t started yet, there is little doubt that both parties want to reach a long-term solution and keep the relationship going.
The Flyers, at the time of this writing, are 22-12-7 with 51 points, sitting ninth in the entire NHL. They wouldn’t be there without Zegras and his continued elite offensive production.
