Despite a franchise-long playoff drought pushing into its seventh season, there’s a great deal of optimism surrounding the Anaheim Ducks. Toiling at the bottom of the NHL standings helped replenish a once-atrophied prospect pool into one of the envies of the league. As the Ducks turn the corner from rebuilder to competitor, many of these prospects have made a strong case for their roles moving forward — Leo Carlsson, the second overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, has the look of a future number-one center and Pavel Mintyukov, the tenth pick from 2022, looks like a top-pairing defenseman and power play quarterback.
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Even after showing an immense amount of talent in his first two professional seasons, Trevor Zegras’ role in the lineup is murky. Zegras, the ninth overall pick in the 2019 Draft, was drafted as a center and has played the pivot in most of his 211 games in the NHL so far. From a playmaking perspective, Zegras lived up to his draft-day potential, leading the Ducks with 126 points in 156 games during his first two full seasons.
Zegras’ contributions to the scoresheet couldn’t keep the Ducks out of the cellar in 2022-23 and finished with a 23-47-12 record. This led to the team drafting Carlsson with the second pick, bringing in a third center with top-six acumen to go with Zegras and Mason McTavish. After a disastrous 2023-24 season, Zegras could be considered the number three center on the team.
In building the optimal lineup for the Ducks, where does Zegras fit — at his natural center position to make the most of his playmaking ability, or on the wing where he’ll skate on a higher line with better finishing talent?
Zegras at Center
The case for Zegras to play center is evident whenever he has the puck on his stick. He’s a playmaker in every sense of the definition. The Michigan-style lacrosse goals are at the forefront of the mind when talking about Zegras, because those end up on highlight reels that permeate the hockey bubble. However, a lot of the “wow” plays he’s generated land on the cutting room floor — cross-ice passes that aren’t handled cleanly, backhand passes to an unaware teammate, and plenty of other would-be situations.
Playing on a rebuilding team put a ceiling on his production, but he’s no longer alone. Anaheim’s built a top-six with plenty of scoring potential, and Zegras can create chances in bunches from the middle of the ice.
Zegras on the Wing
While Zegras’ creativity is maximized at center, his shortcomings are hard to ignore. Center is the most demanding of the forward positions — it requires a commitment to defense. Ducks head coach Greg Cronin has made his commitment to two-way play apparent since he was hired in the 2023 offseason. There were certainly instances of Zegras showing improvements defensively last season, but he’d also end up benched for several shifts at a time for his decision-making. And with only 31 games to go off of last season, the sample size is too small to make any sort of definitive judgment.
Another one of his shortcomings is in the faceoff circle. While faceoff wins aren’t the most important statistic, they carry a lot of situational value. Zegras wins about 40% of his draws, a less efficient rate than McTavish, but better than Carlsson who, as a reminder, was a teenage rookie last season. Imagine a scenario where the Ducks have an offensive zone draw and need a goal. While he almost certainly should be on the ice, it would be difficult for Cronin to trust a Zegras-centered line to gain possession of the puck.
Zegras’ creativity wouldn’t completely evaporate on the wing. There will be plenty of opportunities for wing-to-wing passes in the offensive zone, and it could even open up more goal-scoring opportunities for himself. His one-timer might be the most under-appreciated tool in his arsenal, but it’s incredibly effective and would likely find more use from the wing.
Zegras Should Primarily Play Wing, Fill in at Center
Unfortunately, there is no satisfying answer to Anaheim’s lineup conundrum. Zegras will likely be on the wing with a completely healthy lineup, but that’s rarely the case. In fact, the trio of Zegras, McTavish and Carlsson only suited up for 13 games together last season. In those games, Zegras was listed as a winger 10 times.
If Carlsson or McTavish were to miss time, Zegras likely moves back to the middle. He only played 18 games with either out of the lineup and was listed as a center 13 times.
After a six-season playoff drought, having three quality centers is a welcomed problem for the Ducks to have.
