Speculation: The Athletic-“So, it’s easy to imagine a scenario in which the Ducks move on from Zegras..."

[Ducks]

Drouin and Zegras are completely different players. Please Habs fans: Stop comparing him to Drouin. Instead, I invite you to watch some actual Ducks games, read interviews from Z's coaches and teammates, and actually become informed on Z as a player.

 

[Gliff]

I get the POV Ducks fans, but we aren't blind, there's one précédent in récent years for an extremely talented Young forward that was openly stopped when his coach and GM clearly were like, yea, this kid isn't gonna cut it

That was Drouin, mind you, he had just finished à playoff series by being close to ppg but the writing was on the wall and the Habs management team were suckers to trade for him.

Zegras even as a 60 point player gives young Drouin vibes, I have a very hard time seeing him becoming an established top player, he'll be a first liner and a tank commander, that's why if I'm a GM of a team hoping to win, he isn't someone I'm targeting at all.

But I get yall pOVs Ducks fans, it really sucks to see the decline and you still dream of a good return, you never know, there's always a bad GM that bites, I'm hoping that's not Hughes

1. He isn't openly being shopped.
2. There is zero reason to think his coach or GM have soured on him. In fact his coach recently said Zegras is the most misunderstood player in the NHL and someone you would kill to have on your team not only for his skill but because of the type of teammate he is.

There is no more correlation to Drouin then there is to Patrick Kane.

 

[HuGo Sham]

You're making my point for me. Zegras is a 22 year old with a 61 and 65 point season on the worst team in the league during that time. His potential is sky high and even if he stays who he is right now he is a borderline top line player.

What is the upside to trade him where the best piece coming back is a guy we hope ends up like Zegras?

I don't disagree. This is the discussion on habs board. Is he worth a high pick if Demidov or Lidstrom are still on the board? Is he too much of what the habs already have in Caufield - offensive but not physical.
Do they move a high pick because Zegras fits more into the habs age rebuild than a 2024 pick?
it will be an interesting summer for sure

Drouin and Zegras are completely different players. Please Habs fans: Stop comparing him to Drouin. Instead, I invite you to watch some actual Ducks games, read interviews from Z's coaches and teammates, and actually become informed on Z as a player.

yeah I don't get the comparison either. It's more my fellow habs fans and the post traumatic stress of getting fleeced in that deal.
Zegras is better and has shown more in the NHL. much more

 

[FiveTacos]

I get the POV Ducks fans, but we aren't blind, there's one précédent in récent years for an extremely talented Young forward that was openly stopped when his coach and GM clearly were like, yea, this kid isn't gonna cut it

Little revisionist there. Didn't he openly demand a trade? Didn't the team suspend him? Those things tend to screw up a player's value. Nothing remotely like that has happened with the Ducks and Zegras.

That was Drouin, mind you, he had just finished à playoff series by being close to ppg but the writing was on the wall and the Habs management team were suckers to trade for him.

He also not once managed a 60+ point season, never mind two, despite playing on a much better offensive team than Zegras. The Ducks literally were getting caved in almost all of last season, to score 60+ in those circumstances with most games played in your own end, is far more impressive than what Drouin ever managed with TB on a team that made it to the conference finals.

Zegras even as a 60 point player gives young Drouin vibes, I have a very hard time seeing him becoming an established top player, he'll be a first liner and a tank commander, that's why if I'm a GM of a team hoping to win, he isn't someone I'm targeting at all.

The Ducks this year have been an average team with him, trending as the worst team in the league without. So if wins matter ... Well maybe you should reevaluate him.

But I get yall pOVs Ducks fans, it really sucks to see the decline and you still dream of a good return, you never know, there's always a bad GM that bites, I'm hoping that's not Hughes

"Decline" based on 12 games to start the season. Sure.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

I don't disagree. This is the discussion on habs board. Is he worth a high pick if Demidov or Lidstrom are still on the board? Is he too much of what the habs already have in Caufield - offensive but not physical.
Do they move a high pick because Zegras fits more into the habs age rebuild than a 2024 pick?
it will be an interesting summer for sure


yeah I don't get the comparison either. It's more my fellow habs fans and the post traumatic stress of getting fleeced in that deal.
Zegras is better and has shown more in the NHL. much more

I feel like there is virtually 0 chance the Habs are going to land in a spot where Lidstrom and Demidov are still available.

But maybe to change subjects off zegas (who i dont think realistically is available), What would the Habs add to move from 8 to 3, so they can grab Demidov/lidstrom? I do think this is a draft where if we dont win the lottery, we will potentially move down (pref stay in top 10) and add assest or use the pick to add actual talent to the team.

 

[Gliff]

I feel like there is virtually 0 chance the Habs are going to land in a spot where Lidstrom and Demidov are still available.

But maybe to change subjects off zegas (who i dont think realistically is available), What would the Habs add to move from 8 to 3, so they can grab Demidov/lidstrom? I do think this is a draft where if we dont win the lottery, we will potentially move down (pref stay in top 10) and add assest or use the pick to add actual talent to the team.

No idea. Depends on how the scouts view the top 10. Typically teams never trade out of the top 5. Its happened one time since the lockout.

 

[Ducks]

Given that this team is going to trade veterans again at the deadline, it would take a miracle for the Ducks to fall outside of a top 5 pick and I think Madden/Verbeek are going to want to use it to grab their guy whoever it is. Also, during Madden's tenure we've had great success in the top of the first round and in the later rounds, but that mid to late first range has been particularly bad for the Ducks. So it's probably best not to trade backwards. Plus there's always a chance of getting a late 1st at the deadline anyway.

 

[John Mandalorian]

Drouin and Zegras are completely different players. Please Habs fans: Stop comparing him to Drouin. Instead, I invite you to watch some actual Ducks games, read interviews from Z's coaches and teammates, and actually become informed on Z as a player.

Honestly, would you expect comments from teammates to be very scathing? It’s not like it’s never happened but typically teammates aren’t going to publicly call each other out especially by name.

So it’s a little flawed to keep referring to this as something that has meaning.

 

[Ducks]

Honestly, would you expect comments from teammates to be very scathing? It’s not like it’s never happened but typically teammates aren’t going to publicly call each other out especially by name.

So it’s a little flawed to keep referring to this as something that has meaning.

Okay then do something else for research. Just get informed and stop (not you necessarily) comparing him to Drouin and regurgitating false rumors about his character as a player. 99% of Ducks fans love Z, want to keep him, and believe in him as a player. Verbeek literally called him a cornerstone of the franchise at the start of the season, Cronin called him one of the smartest hockey minds he's ever coached, but none of that gets brought up here because apparently nobody but Ducks fans who WATCH ZEGRAS PLAY know wtf they are talking about.

 

[Colezuki]

Assuming the guy we want isn’t there could see Hughes going habs 1st for Z

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Assuming the guy we want isn’t there could see Hughes going habs 1st for Z

I think that’s the most realistic starting point…. Anyone thinking the jets 1st gets you into the conversation need to be pinched cause they dreamin

 

[ole ole]

The only big games this kid has played in (WJC/Beanpot etc) he's risen to the occasion.

Again, for whatever reason and with no basis, people have just decided that this kid is of the lowest caliber of character and are making ridiculous assumptions based on that.

Isn't comparing him to Kane ridiculous?

 

[Colezuki]

think that’s the most realistic starting point…. Anyone thinking the jets 1st gets you into the conversation need to be pinched cause they dreamin

Yeah I mean everyone this time Of year gets silly about draft picks, but I just think it’s simple. Especially if the player we want isn’t there and there’s a guy there you do want

 

[ole ole]

Agreed, and if this type of trade happens is probably at the draft. Lets assume for arguements sake the mtl pick is 8th. The guy they are targeting is off the board- maybe they move the pick plus a young RD not named reinbacher for Zegras. They have extra 2nd 3rd rounders that can be thrown in. A late 2nd like the Col pick, their 1st and Barron.

Again I doubt the Ducks move him, they want to see what he does next year without the effects of a prolonged contract negotiation and injury.

Habs 1st and Barron if the player the Habs are looking for is gone.
That's a possibility that i could see Hughes go for.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

Isn't comparing him to Kane ridiculous?

Why don't you take that up with whoever said that?

 

[Firequacker]

Honestly, would you expect comments from teammates to be very scathing? It’s not like it’s never happened but typically teammates aren’t going to publicly call each other out especially by name.

So it’s a little flawed to keep referring to this as something that has meaning.

I don't think anyone's saying that he must be great because his teammates aren't trashing him. You don't have to be scathing to be unenthusiastic, but everyone who actually interacts with the guy seems ready to actively go to bat for him.

As an example, Cronin recently made a point of saying that in the game where he got benched, Zegras was the first to celebrate his teammates succeeding even without him and that it speaks to how good a teammate he is. Nobody's forcing him to do that. If Zegras is really some kind of locker room cancer, nobody would've batted an eye at "yeah we had to bench him once but he responded to it very constructively" or something. Instead he went out of his way to praise his character. You can still argue bias, sure, but positive comments like that are not meaningless just because you wouldn't expect his coach to trash him to the media outright.

 

[robbieboy3686]

This thread isn’t locked yet? Jesus

 

[emptynetter3]

Isn't comparing him to Kane ridiculous?

you missed my point so i will leave it....but, who is the better player caufield or zegras?

 

[ole ole]

I feel like there is virtually 0 chance the Habs are going to land in a spot where Lidstrom and Demidov are still available.

But maybe to change subjects off zegas (who i dont think realistically is available), What would the Habs add to move from 8 to 3, so they can grab Demidov/lidstrom? I do think this is a draft where if we dont win the lottery, we will potentially move down (pref stay in top 10) and add assest or use the pick to add actual talent to the team.

I don't know about 3rd but Lindstrom is ranked at 6 th at best in any ranking's i've seen. If true than the Habs have a great shot at him.

 

[ole ole]

Again, for whatever reason and with no basis, people have just decided that this kid is of the lowest caliber of character and are making ridiculous assumptions based on that.

Maybe you should take your own advice.
I think it went like this.
[Why don't you take that up with whoever said that?]

 

[WhatTheDuck]

Maybe you should take your own advice.
I think it went like this.
[Why don't you take that up with whoever said that?]

Difference is, you would be quoting the one person who said that, and I'm not going to sit here and quote dozens of uninformed Habs fans

 

[ole ole]

There is no more correlation to Drouin then there is to Patrick Kane.

Totally agree.

you missed my point so i will leave it....but, who is the better player caufield or zegras?

I wouldn't trade Caufield for Zegras. You can take that for what it's worth.

 

[HabsAddict]

Apparently the Habs called. Hughes thought he was ordering a delux pizza...

One of the biggest reasons why the Habs may pass is that he's not signed long term.

I can see Zegras having two 60 point seasons and demanding 10-11 million in a rising cap. Getting 3 years of Zegras at 60 points each is good but is it worth the risk over drafting a center in the 7-8 spot?

This is the very definition of high risk...

 

[lwvs84]

I don't disagree. This is the discussion on habs board. Is he worth a high pick if Demidov or Lidstrom are still on the board? Is he too much of what the habs already have in Caufield - offensive but not physical.
Do they move a high pick because Zegras fits more into the habs age rebuild than a 2024 pick?
it will be an interesting summer for sure


yeah I don't get the comparison either. It's more my fellow habs fans and the post traumatic stress of getting fleeced in that deal.
Zegras is better and has shown more in the NHL. much more

I feel like you can have 2-3 non-physical players in your top 6 and succeed, and having Zegras and Caufield with a big winger on the left as your 2nd line would work. The problem isn't Caufield, it's that Zegras and Suzuki should fill the same role on a contender (unless one of the two greatly improves their offense or defense). It's possible one or both end up as more, but realistically they are high end 2C's unless you decide to move Zegras to the wing. Zegras feels like the wrong type of player for Montreal to target (not that he couldn't help), but he would require assets that are better used elsewhere. Montreal seems like they need a 1C, Anaheim needs a top pair RHD... the teams basically need the two hardest positions to find/trade for. Using the assets for Zegras to target a 1C (maybe trading up for a potential one?). But Montreal is one of 3 teams I think that has a chance at the #1 pick (it's probably going to be Chitcago again), but someone has to jump the Ducks so they have their annual 1 spot drop, might be you guys.

 

[HuGo Sham]

I feel like you can have 2-3 non-physical players in your top 6 and succeed, and having Zegras and Caufield with a big winger on the left as your 2nd line would work. The problem isn't Caufield, it's that Zegras and Suzuki should fill the same role on a contender (unless one of the two greatly improves their offense or defense). It's possible one or both end up as more, but realistically they are high end 2C's unless you decide to move Zegras to the wing. Zegras feels like the wrong type of player for Montreal to target (not that he couldn't help), but he would require assets that are better used elsewhere. Montreal seems like they need a 1C, Anaheim needs a top pair RHD... the teams basically need the two hardest positions to find/trade for. Using the assets for Zegras to target a 1C (maybe trading up for a potential one?). But Montreal is one of 3 teams I think that has a chance at the #1 pick (it's probably going to be Chitcago again), but someone has to jump the Ducks so they have their annual 1 spot drop, might be you guys.

I think Montreal would move zegras to the wing - especially with Dach’s return. I also think it’s risky with so many small Fs in top 6. Habs only have Slafkovsky and Dach. I think they need another puck winner.
I think You’re also underrating Suzuki. He’s on pace for about 78-80 pts this year and plays very hard minutes. He's become a 200 foot player and anchors the only line that scores. I think he’s actually like 30th among all C’s for points. That’s a 1st line C