Anaheim Ducks’ Trevor Zegras to miss time with lower-body injury

One of the game’s bright young stars is going to be out for at least a couple of games.

On Wednesday, Anaheim Ducks head coach Greg Cronin stated center Trevor Zegras will miss some time due to a lower-body injury.

During the first period Tuesday night’s game against the Nashville Predators, Zegras fell awkwardly into the boards after getting entangled with Preds’ forward Juuso Parssinen. The 2019 ninth-overall pick needed help getting off the ice and back into the locker room.

He would not return to the game. The Ducks ended up winning, 5-3.

With Zegras expected to be out for the next few games, a struggling Anaheim side are going to have a sizeable hole as they continue their current road trip. They head to Raleigh for a Thursday-night clash with the Carolina Hurricanes, before taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers this weekend. They will finish their five-game East Coast swing with a contest against the Washington Capitals next Tuesday.

It has only been a couple of weeks since Zegras returned from injured reserve, as a different lower-body injury kept the 22-year-old out of the lineup for 20 games.

In just 20 games played, Zegras has scored four goals and three assists for the struggling team in Orange County.

Nevertheless, Zegras has been quickly become a hot topic on trade boards after defenseman Jamie Drysdale was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for Cutter Gauthier. For a Ducks team that has been consistently near the bottom of the Pacific Division, it would be wrong to waste a young talent like Zegras, similar to the Jack Eichel era with the Buffalo Sabres.

In 200 NHL games, the Bedford, New York native has scored 53 goals and 93 assists, notching a career-high 65 points during the 2022-23 campaign.

Anaheim (14-25-1) is currently seventh in the Pacific, eight points ahead of the last-place San Jose Sharks, and 14 points back of the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.