This time last year, it was an open question whether Trevor Zegras would successfully revitalize his career in Philadelphia with the Flyers.
Today, he has the highest cap hit on the roster.
Late on Wednesday night, the Flyers announced that they had locked up Zegras — a restricted free agent in need of a new contract — to a four-year, $36.5 million extension, giving Zegras a team-high $9.125 million contract. That’s $375,000 more than the Flyers’ previous cap hit leader, Travis Konecny.
“Obviously, Trevor is a big part of our team, a big part of our future as well,” general manager Daniel Briere said in a Zoom call with reporters on Thursday morning. “Since we’ve acquired him, it’s been extremely positive.”
The statistics back up Briere’s assertion. After two consecutive down seasons in Anaheim removed him from the Ducks’ future plans, Zegras bounced back in a big way with the Flyers last season, finishing with career highs in goals (26) and points (67) while not missing any time due to injury (an issue which had plagued him in recent seasons). Only Travis Konecny finished with more points among Flyers players than Zegras, who quickly established himself as one of the club’s most dangerous offensive weapons.
And now, he’s locked up for four more seasons, due to a contract that covers his final two years of RFA control and then two UFA seasons as well, lasting until Zegras is 29 years old. Barring a trade — the contract provides Zegras limited no-trade protection in Years 3 & 4 — Zegras will be part of the Flyers through the rest of the 2020s.
Let’s break down the details of the deal that keeps him in the Orange & Black.
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6 Comments (3 conversations)
MarioD
Agree. My first reaction was they are actinng like a team with a window to contend that closes in four years.
Which makes absolutely no sense because it hasnt opened yet and they have no reasonable plan to opening it.
They should be spreading out at least two of those UFA years over the life of the deal now that they have at least this year as another non contending season anyway.
They just continue to refuse to efficiently use cap space in these non contending seasons.
jonas
Please go away. No one is interested in hearing your opinions.
guadzilla
The good news is, when the team is playing well, he’ll not be seen. He’s only here to moan and second-guess things. Which is a very strange way to be a fan, atleast to me.
jimmyb
Good article as always Charlie. Totally sensible deal for both sides. If I were Zegras, I wouldn’t want to lock in at say $10.5M for 6+ years and then have that be the going rate for lesser players in 2030.
I may be in the minority, but I love this offseason by DB. High on the Woll and Acciari moves, and excited by Soko and the other picks made in rounds 2/3. DB didn’t miss out on any obvious opportunities, and the offer sheet showed a willingness to make a bold move for a cornerstone player.
guadzilla
On the length of the contracts, Charlie – I agree that i would have preferred them to sign Zegras for an 8 year term. Based on my own “reading between the lines” when you (I think it was you) asked him that question, I think he tried and Zegras’s team didnt go for it. Given the way the cap is going to rise, i wonder if the long term contract would have been closer to 13-14MM/year, as opposed to 10-11? That would certainly have clogged up their cap in there here-and-now.
But on further review, i am not all THAT fussed about it. Let’s say they give him a 7 year contract at 29 at fair market value and the salary cap keeps increasing. That contract is going to be under-valued by the time he turns 33-34 and it wont be that difficult to move him.
Similarly, with Dvorak’s contract, i have never been that fussed. He’s a bargain for a low-end 2C right now and in 2-3 years time, he will be a bargain for a decent 3C. Getting rid of his contract will never be an issue, I feel.
Vladar’s contract does have me a little worried – but at some point, as a team, you have to take a plunge and get ahead of the cap by signing key players early (Roseman does the same in football). You just need to be good with your projections on the player. Let’s see how that goes.
guadzilla
PS – Have you heard anything about Risto being moved? All chatter seems to have died down for now.
Could it be for the “between the lines” move or are we more likely to see traction come training camp?