Trevor Zegras’ rising stardom can’t save the disastrous Anaheim Ducks

Trevor Zegras can’t help but be himself: boisterous, charming, affable without even really trying. When he’s showing off his tattoos, which he feels are a great way to express himself, he laughs when asked to explain the spider-web one.

“It’s just Spider-Man,” he says self-deprecatingly.

But that isn’t the ink that stands out the most. It’s the Nike statue tattoo. That’s the goddess of victory. And Zegras has done plenty of winning in his hockey life, most notably at the 2021 World Junior Championship, where his MVP performance ranked among the greatest in the tournament’s history. But, sheesh, the tat sure does feel unintentionally ironic right about now. The Anaheim Ducks were supposed to be making progress in 2022-23. Instead, they hold a .321 points percentage, good for the 29^th-best mark in the NHL.

And it’s too bad: because Zegras, for the most part, is continuing his progression to being one of the game’s most scintillating and marketable talents.

Within less than a year of the Ducks drafting him ninth overall in 2019, the scouting community got the sense that he was a steal even that high. It wasn’t so much the razzle dazzle of his game, honed as a kid by watching YouTube videos of Patrick Kane, that attracted the eyeballs. It was the all-around vision, the sublime passing ability. One scout told me in 2021 they believed he would “absolutely be a superstar in this league.” And even then, his ability might have been underestimated. When Zegras and I spoke for the first time in 2021, he talked a lot about wanting to develop himself as a goal-scorer, too. He believed in that part of his game even though it wasn’t advertised as much as a key feature.

All the pieces have come together at the NHL level for the Ducks No. 1 center. He was the Calder Trophy runner-up in 2021-22, he has seven goals in his first 14 games this season, and neither of those facts tell the whole story. Zegras got hot in the second half last season, remember. From March 1 onward, he had 10 goals and 22 points in 26 games. That gives him a stat line of 17 goals and 34 points in his past 40 games, which extrapolates to a 34-goal, 70-point pace over an 82-game season. The awakening is happening.

And yes, of course, it matters that Zegras doesn’t do it quietly on the ice. His skills couldn’t be louder. He’s become the king of the Michigan lacrosse goal, as we all know, and doesn’t rule out trying something else if it comes to him.

“I have no idea: maybe it’ll just come to me randomly,” he said before the season began, with an earnest laugh as usual. “Usually that’s how it works. Just instinct, like if I see something, quick twitch, I dunno. I don’t have anything planned, so to speak.”

Even if the more prehistoric hockey thinkers disagree with the showtime elements to Zegras’ game, he understands it’s a form of expression. It aligns with other players he’s followed during his ascension, such as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews, who never hurts for swagger on or off the ice.

“For sure, exactly, – a guy that I grew up watching, had a lot of respect for,” Zegras said. “So it’s cool to see a top player in the league be himself and go about his life the way he wants to.”

So, yes, every diehard hockey fan knows who Zegras is and what he’s about. There’s a reason he graces the cover of EA Sports’ NHL 23 game alongside Sarah Nurse. But Zegras, 21, despite having as fan-friendly a personality as anyone in the sport right now, hasn’t broken through to that can’t-go-to-the-movies level of stardom. Does he get recognized at least a little bit?

“It might sound crazy but not really,” he said. “In Anaheim, they love their hockey, but it’s a little more chill down in California and Newport Beach. I was actually at a coffee shop one time and some guy came up and gave me one of these (hand gesture) ‘Go Ducks!’ or something like that (laughs). It’s just a totally different vibe down here. But all good stuff.”

Sure, maybe the obscure market holds back Zegras’ brand. But it also might be…the standings. Fans love a star, but they really love a star playing on a winner, and the Ducks are the opposite of that right now.

They’re getting absolutely caved in by their opponents. Per Natural Stat Trick, at 5-on-5, they allow a jaw-dropping 39.40 shots against per 60 minutes, five more than the next-worst team. They generate 2.12 expected goals per 60 and by far the most expected goals against per 60 at 3.45. The goaltending from John Gibson and Anthony Stolarz has been subpar, but no tandem has had less help – and more quality chances surrendered – from the team in front of them. Zegras and Troy Terry have been offensive bright spots but even they have barely been able to break even in their two-way impact. Simply put, the Ducks are a disaster. Based on play-driving metrics, they’ve been the NHL’s worst team this year, as reflected in Scott Maxwell’s Daily Faceoff weekly power rankings.

On one hand, the struggles are to be expected given the Ducks are a rebuilding operation. General manager Pat Verbeek sold off Hampus Lindholm, Rickard Rakell and Josh Manson leading up to the trade deadline last season, after all. But Verbeek also signed forwards Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano and defenseman John Klingberg in the offseason. Clearly this team felt it had potential for progression, with Zegras, rookie center Mason McTavish and blueliner Jamie Drysdale as the pillars to build around, the franchise’s best prospect trio since Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan in the early 2000s.

But it’s just not happening, and Getzlaf’s retirement after last season could be one reason why. The captain’s departure has left a huge void. Getzlaf could pick the team up in the middle of a game by closing the dressing room door during an intermission and “delivering one of his Getzlaf speeches,” Zegras explains, and the team simply hasn’t replaced that voice during its leadership transition. The captaincy remains vacant.

Also factoring in the season-ending injury to Drysdale, 2022-23 is looking like a lost season already in Anaheim. It might not be long before contending teams start to circle the waters and ask Verbeek about pending UFAs like Klingberg, especially after Verbeek established a willingness to go scorched-earth last season.

The Ducks have young talent to get excited about. Eventually they’ll get help on defense from prospects such as Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov. But for now, this team is a pushover, far too easy to play against, ranking near the bottom of the NHL in hits and blocked shots per 60 minutes. It may be a while before wins start piling up – and Zegras starts getting recognized on the street in Newport Beach.

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Trevor Zegras’ rising stardom can’t save the disastrous Anaheim Ducks

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