Trevor Zegras had a great season thus far with the Flyers. Most of it was on the wing alongside Christian Dvorak. Occasionally he was a “hybrid” center, with essentially Dvorak taking the faceoff and then the duo switching positions during open play. It was an experiment, then it came and went, and then it looked to be over.
However, in the last little while, whether from on high or from head coach Rick Tocchet himself, Zegras has found himself playing down the middle. And he’s looking a bit more comfortable in that position and his head coach is recognizing it.
Rick Tocchet discusses Trevor Zegras at center
“Yeah, Trevor, I think he’s been gaining traction,” Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet said after Wednesday’s 4-1 victory over Washington. “Like he’s been coming off on reads and barking orders now, who to go and what. And I don’t know what he was on the dot tonight, but I think he was a little better on the faceoffs. He knows he’s going to have to get better. But I thought he had a good game tonight at center.”
Through 65 games thus far, Zegras hasn’t been great on the faceoff dot. He has won 81 of 253 faceoffs, which is 32 per cent effectiveness. By comparison, Sean Couturier and Dvorak are almost clones on the dot (53.4 per cent and 53.2 per cent, respectively) and Rodrigo Abols (before he was injured) was at 52.1 per cent.
So clearly Zegras has some distance to go to get up to that 50 per cent range. Thursday night in Minnesota Zegras was just 1 for 13 on the dot (8 per cent). If there was any silver lining, it was Zegras didn’t take any faceoffs in the defensive zone as Couturier, Dvorak, and Noah Cates were responsible for those situations. Meanwhile Wednesday night against Washington, Zegras was 2-for-7 (29 per cent) on the dot.
When Zegras was first acquired, the idea was that he would become the center (or one of the higher-end talented centers) that would help Philadelphia on the path to contention. That was the goal. However some early trial runs proved to be less than stellar.
Whether it was Zegras reverting back to a winger’s mentality, or just finding himself on the wrong end of defensive coverage, it wasn’t something that Zegras or Tocchet appeared to revel in. However, with Philadelphia still in the playoff hunt but with not exactly stellar odds currently, there really isn’t any harm in trying Zegras at center.
If he begins to blossom into a dependable center (and shows improvement on the dot), then it’s definitely food for thought heading into 2026-27. It would give Zegras some confidence knowing he can play the position, especially in games that are still meaningful and have importance against teams also striving for the playoffs. And also, Tocchet would probably feel safer locking him into that position moving forward.
Was this the Flyers’ plan all along?
Obviously, Zegras has been on the wing most of the season. And when the trade deadline was done, Flyers general manager Danny Briere noted that Zegras was more comfy on the wing. It wasn’t necessarily a good thing or a bad thing. It just was what it was.
“I wish I could say the opposite,” Briere said. “I wish I could say he’s much better when he plays center, but the reality is that he’s been at his best when he plays with (Konecny) and Dvorak. That line has been our best line for a while. There’s always been the possibility, and you see it. He’s played a few games in the middle as well, but he just seems to have chemistry with Dvorak and TK at the moment, so that’s why I put more on the wing.”
With the trade of Bobby Brink, obviously some of the lines would be juggled again, which might have been the perfect time to give Zegras another chance to see if he could play center. Again, with the playoff chances slim, there would be no harm in having “Ziggy” play center.
If these remaining 17 games show he’s not equipped no matter how many reps or ice time he’s given, then the sample size was much bigger and it simply didn’t work. On the other hand, should he begin to flourish, as it looks like he is starting to (albeit baby steps), then this could somewhat resolve one problem when it comes to the dearth of talent down the middle. Regardless of how it plays out, Tocchet is seeing Zegras a bit more as a center. And perhaps more importantly, Zegras is starting to see that in himself.
