PHILADELPHIA — Trevor Zegras believes the NHL is seeing the best version of himself right now with the Philadelphia Flyers.
He’s certainly been better than the player who struggled through injuries and inconsistencies the previous two seasons, and even better than the one who broke into the NHL with back-to-back seasons of more than 60 points.
“I feel better than that guy,” Zegras said. “For sure. Not that that guy wasn’t great, just different. I see the game differently. I look for things that I wasn’t looking for back then. Played more off of adrenaline and how cool it was to play in the NHL, whereas now there’s, like, a right way to play the game.
“I just think there are so many little different things that I do now that I would have never done back then. So, I think it’s cool.”
The 24-year-old forward is healthy, happy, energized by old friends becoming new teammates, and a coaching staff that trusts him.
The result is Zegras playing and skating with the kind of confidence he hasn’t shown since he became a full-time NHL player with the Anaheim Ducks in 2021-22.
Zegras leads the Flyers with 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 25 games, including four points (two goals, two assists) during a three-game point streak heading into Philadelphia’s game against the Buffalo Sabres at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, TNT).
“I think he’s just having fun,” Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale said. “I think that’s kind of just the bottom line. He’s enjoying himself. I think he’s found himself at home here. The group’s amazing. He’s been a great fit for the group, and when he’s having fun, being creative, he’s going to produce, he’s going to play well and make stuff happen.”
It’s a far cry from the player who had 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists) in 88 games the previous two seasons with the Ducks.
That’s down from the 61 points (23 goals, 38 assists) he had as a rookie in 2021-22 and 65 (23 goals, 42 assists) in 2022-23.
But Zegras was also a combined minus-45 during those seasons, and when Greg Cronin replaced Dallas Eakins as Anaheim coach ahead of the 2023-24 season, he shifted Zegras from his natural center position to the wing to ease some of the defensive burden.
The move also saw Zegras lose ice time, going from 18:23 per game from 2021-23 to 17:03 per game from 2023-25.
Cronin was fired by the Ducks on April 19. On June 23, Zegras was traded to the Flyers, for forward Ryan Poehling and two picks in the NHL Draft.
The move reunited Zegras with two of his closest friends, Drysdale and defenseman Cam York. Zegras and Drysdale were teammates with the Ducks during their first four NHL seasons until Drysdale was traded to Philadelphia during the 2023-24 season. Zegras and York were teammates for two seasons (2017-19) with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.
“Away from the rink it definitely helps for sure, coming to a new place, all new things,” Zegras said. “So, it’s cool to have buddies outside of the game.”
They’ve seen Zegras’ infectious attitude bring some new life to the locker room.
“He’s just confident,” York said. “I think from Day 1 he’s fit well in our locker room, too, which has helped. … Personality, he’s literally like a 12-year-old kid.”
Some of that confidence has come from the trust he’s developed with coach Rick Tocchet. In his first season as Flyers coach, Tocchet carries the cache of an 18-season NHL veteran who won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992 and is one of five players all-time with at least 1,000 games (1,144), 400 goals (440) and 2,000 penalty minutes (2,970).
Tocchet also won the Stanley Cup twice as an assistant with the Penguins (2016, 2017), and the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year with the Vancouver Canucks in 2024.
“He’s somebody that you can listen to because they’ve lived it,” Zegras said. “A guy you can trust with what he’s saying, and what he says works. I think the team’s had success in a lot of the aspects that he’s been preaching this year.”
Tocchet has been impressed by Zegras’ willingness to learn, including frequent video sessions to review the good and the bad.
“I think when he’s going good, sometimes the coaches will leave him alone,” Tocchet said. “But you also want to show him something when he’s doing good stuff. … For me, there’s a couple of keys with him when he’s on his game and when he’s not, and just reminders.
“He likes to hear the information, and he’ll come up with some plays. He’ll talk [and say], ‘What about this?’ I like that.’ It’s not just a one-way conversation.”
Zegras said it all feels more like a partnership with Tocchet and the coaching staff than the coach/player relationship he’s experienced in the past.
It’s given him more confidence, including the knowledge that if he makes a mistake he isn’t going to be glued to the bench.
As an example, during the third period of a game at the New Jersey Devils on Nov. 29, Zegras’ defensive-zone giveaway led to Dawson Mercer’s goal that trimmed Philadelphia’s lead to 4-3. The Flyers went on to win 5-3, and Zegras never missed a shift.
“He made a mistake [on the Mercer goal],” Tocchet said. “The whole world knows it; I don’t need to go down and tell him. To put him back out there was big, and I think he had a good shift when I threw him out there. … This year, if he’s made a mistake, he’s corrected it pretty quick.”
Knowing he has the coaching staff’s trust has allowed Zegras to skate freer than he has in the past.
“It’s just nice,” he said. “I think [Tocchet] understands it because he played the game for so long. There’s so many games, you’re bound to make a couple mistakes, and for him to have the trust and confidence in me that he knows that that’s a one-off, and that I can correct that, it’s pretty cool.”
That’s why this could be the best version of Zegras.
“I think this is the best I’ve seen his game, just all around, to be honest with you,” Drysdale said. “I think he’s playing quality hockey, and I think that’s why he’s getting the looks. He’s creative, and guys are respecting his game. He’s been great.”
