The Anaheim Ducks parted ways with former first-round pick Trevor Zegras on Monday, offloading him in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek addressed the decision to move on from Zegras in a statement on Monday, offering some insight as to why the front office pulled the trigger on the trade with Philadelphia.
"Well, I think this where you start imagining lines and how you want certain players to complement each other. We started looking at that scenario, and ultimately we made the decision to move Trevor because of that," Verbeek said of the decision to trade Zegras.
"Yeah, ultimately Trevor has been wanting to play center, and I think that he'll be given that opportunity in Philadelphia. I think that when he's more creative in the middle of the ice than having to play from the wing, we're fortunate there's Leo [Carlsson] and there's Mason [McTavish]. So we find that they're two pretty good centermen. So Trevor to kind of get pushed to the wing, and that probably doesn't suit his best attributes being able to create from the middle," added Verbeek.
Verbeek noted that the addition of Chris Kreider also filled a spot along the wings and altered the team's line combinations, prompting them to explore a Zegras trade.
Zegras was the No. 9 pick in the 2019 draft and got off to a hot start to his career through his first two full seasons. He's struggled with injuries of late, however, playing a total of 88 games over the last two years.
With just one year left on his contract before Zegras becomes a restricted free agent, the Ducks made the difficult decision to trade him. The trade will free up around $3.8 million in cap space, giving Anaheim a healthy $36 million to work with this offseason as they look to potentially make another big splash on the trade market or in free agency.
The full trade sees Zegras head to the Flyers in exchange for center Ryan Poehling, the No. 45 pick in the 2025 draft and a future fourth-round pick.
More on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ducks GM Explains Decision to Trade Trevor Zegras to Flyers.