The sales pitch to acquire Trevor Zegras pre-dates Matvei Michkov’s debut in a Philadelphia Flyers sweater.
If you had an internet connection, you were likely aware of the articles about whether the Flyers should make a trade for Zegras before the 2023-2024 NHL season began. At the time, Daniel Brière and John Tortorella agreed that Philadelphia wasn’t positioned to make such a move. Admittedly, the rush to acquire Zegras wouldn’t fit the timeline. Tortorella wouldn’t have been a fit to coach a player like Zegras, who plays like a dynamic forward rather than the prototypical checking forward Tortorella would like in his system. Also, the Anaheim Ducks weren’t through with Zegras.
Keith Jones, Dan Hilferty, Brière, and Tortorella championed the rebuild of the Flyers, starting with Michkov in the first round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Michkov didn’t come to North America for the 2023-2024 NHL season, remaining with HK Sochi in the KHL. Simultaneously, Brière acquired draft capital while welcoming Michkov in North America before the 2024-2025 NHL season, well ahead of his expected arrival. Philadelphia fans dreamt of the high-end scoring talent, including lacrosse-style playmaking that would likely cause Tortorella to spontaneously combust from the bench, which only inspired more talk about acquiring Zegras.
However, Brière didn’t spend the draft capital on a trade to acquire Zegras. Instead, he waited to spend the least amount of value to acquire Zegras once the Flyers were on their way to their next chapter. Tortorella was fired before the end of the 2024-2025 NHL season, which meant a clean slate for Zegras in Philadelphia.
At one time, the Flyers would’ve had to include a first-round pick for Zegras in a trade. Instead, Brière sent Ryan Poehling, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Ducks for Zegras.
Now, before the 2025-2026 NHL season begins, it’s not worth pointing out ‘who won the trade.’ There’s no measurement of regular-season hockey to provide reasoning, since we’re in the middle of the 2025 NHL Preseason.
Then, there’s the hiring of Rick Tocchet as the new head coach in Philadelphia. His system draws a handful of comparisons to Tortorella:
- similar emphasis on offensive zone forechecking
- north-south pace; don’t make the extra pass to create the ‘perfect’ play
- low-scoring offense at even-strength; not enough space created
Certainly, Zegras could complement parts of the system Tocchet is deploying, but in most cases, he comes with more questions than answers.
“I need to get these guys in concepts; what we want to do. We need to hold onto pucks. We don’t want to throw pucks away; we want to be a better possession team, so we got to work on that stuff. They were a good team last year off the rush, but can we hold onto pucks down low? You can’t throw the playbook at them right now, but there’s certain things that you want to see. There’s not a lot of time, so you want to make sure that your guys know their system the opening night. It’s going to take some time; they’re going to have to get used to some of the stuff that we’re going to do.” – Rick Tocchet; 9/18/2025
In accentuating the positives, Zegras could create space in the offensive zone with his speed. The Flyers, as a whole, will still rely on checking to wear down opponents, which is where Zegras would excel. Essentially, Tocchet would be right to create a line adjacent to the prototypical reliance on forechecking, which his system seems to rely on. A forward line including Mickov, Zegras, and Travis Konecny makes sense. Speed, high-end offensive talent, and checking aren’t sacrificed, and the blue line would be presumably protected by Cam York and Travis Sanheim.
“I know everybody wants chemistry. Scotty Bowman was a genius behind the bench. He was the ‘pair guy.’ You have pairs, and you can always rotate a guy in and out as the third. I do like that process sometimes. If you can find three guys; I think Noah [Noah Cates], Foerster [Tyson Foerster], and Brink [Bobby Brink] were aligned last year. A pretty good line, I heard. I watched some video. You’re looking for that type of chemistry.” – Rick Tocchet; 9/18/2025
A different monster is the power play. Presumably, the top power play unit would consist of Michkov, Zegras, Konecny, Sean Couturier, and Jamie Drysdale. It’s impossible to get a grip on the power play with collaborative AHL and NHL skaters in a preseason lineup, but what’s worth noting is the consistent work throughout the 2025 Flyers Training Camp. This is where Zegras and Michkov formed a relationship, and in due time, Zegras could be the center with the most synergy alongside Michkov.
Michkov and Zegras have taken to each other like two peas in a pod.
Often enough, Michkov and Zegras are working together, or with Tocchet, following practice sessions. Soon, they could be channeling their speed and playmaking on a line with Konecny, who’s led Philadelphia in scoring routinely since the 2021-2022 NHL season. If Tocchet, the new bench boss for the Flyers, is looking for tandems to mold forward lines, Michkov and Zegras should top his list.
Michkov-Zegras-Konecny
Dvorak-Couturier-Tippett
Foerster-Cates-Brink
Grebenkin-Ābols-Hathaway
Deslauriers/Richard
For this idea to stick, Zegras must become more efficient at the faceoff dot. If Tocchet slates him as a center in his lineup, that, among rigid defense, is paramount.
“Centermen are huge. They’re the heartbeat of your team. Most times, they’re the smartest guys, right? We have a lot of capable guys. D-Vo [Christian Dvorak] I had in Arizona. Smart guy; good two-way guy. [I’m] really impressed with Cates [Noah Cates]. I’ve heard a lot of good things about him, and I watched him today. He [Cates] just looks smart; he knows where the puck [is], and I’m watching him in his defensive zone coverages. He [Cates] knows what he’s doing. If Trevor [Trevor Zegras] plays center, the speed through the neutral zone; things like that. Couts [Sean Couturier]; he won a Selke. The guy [Couturier] has pedigree. We got some centermen that can play without the puck, and that’s a good thing. We just got to get guys to drive play.” – Rick Tocchet; 9/18/2025
Still, there is the option to put Zegras on the wing, creating an opportunity for a more stable center at the faceoff circle. Couturier is a credible option. That could mean Konecny is potentially downgraded to a second-line forward with Owen Tippett across the ice, centered by Christian Dvorak. All of this is open to interpretation and subject to change throughout the upcoming NHL season.
Zegras-Couturier-Michkov
Tippett-Dvorak-Konecny
Foerster-Cates-Brink
Grebenkin-Ābols-Hathaway
Deslauriers/Richard
Philadelphia has four more preseason exhibitions before visiting the Florida Panthers on October 9th. Zegras, against the New York Islanders, finished with a 44.4% rate at the faceoff dot, four shots, and a +1 rating in the 3-2 shootout win. Comparably, that’s better than Dvorak in those metrics (42.1% faceoff rate, one shot, -1 rating), though Dvorak did tally an assist on the power play against the Montréal Canadiens in a 4-2 loss. Couturier had a 47.1% rate at the faceoff dot, one shot, and a -2 rating against the Canadiens. Rodrigo Ābols won at a 57.1% rate at the faceoff dot, earning an extended look from Tocchet, notching a point (1G, 1A) in two of his three preseason appearances.
