Ziggy is here to stay.
The Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward Trevor Zegras to a four-year, $36.5 million contract extension, the team announced on Wednesday night. That’s an average annual value (AAV) of $9.125 M for the 25-year-old.
“We’re thrilled to have Trevor committed to our organization for the next four years,” said General Manager Daniel Briere in a press release. “The growth he showed this past season, proving that he is the skilled player he entered the league as, reinforced our belief that he will be an impact player for the Flyers for the years to come. He’s the type of player who can help take our team to the next level, and we’re excited to continue building alongside him.”
The Flyers acquired Zegras in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks on June 23, 2025. They sent Ryan Poehling, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Ducks for the young forward.
Zegras had a fantastic season in his first year in Philadelphia. He scored a career-high 26 goals to help him to a career-high 67 points, with his 41 assists coming one shy of the 42 he had in the 2022-23 season.
A four-year deal for Zegras will keep him under contract through the 2029-30 season. It locks him up through the rest of his prime as the forward will be 29 at the end of the ’29-30 campaign.
Flyers pay a bit more than projected for Zegras
When we looked at what the next contract for Zegras could look like back in May, both AFP Analytics and Evolving-Hockey had the forward’s AAV coming in a bit under the $9.125 million that he has signed for.
AFP Analytics projected a five-year deal with an $8.2M AAV, and Evolving-Hockey had Zegras’ contract coming in at $7.6M for four years.
The Flyers’ offer sheet to Leo Carlsson may have impacted things here for Zegras’ camp. If they knew that Philadelphia was willing to pay a top-line center $18 million per season, that gave them some leverage in negotiations.
While it may be a tad higher than some thought Zegras would sign for, it certainly doesn’t look like a bad signing as of now. The forward split time between wing and center last season, and didn’t look out of place down the middle as the Flyers made their run to the playoffs late in the year.
Only signing Zegras for four years may be worrisome for some. However, a longer-term pact would’ve likely required a higher AAV in this rising-cap world. Instead, Briere locked up Zegras for the rest of his prime and, hopefully, the early portion of the Flyers’ contending window.
The good news is that the Flyers and Zegras will avoid arbitration, and it didn’t come down to the 11th hour. Zegras’ arbitration date was set for Wednesday, July 22. The two sides were able to come to an agreement a week before they would have had to go to war in an arbitration case.
What’s next for Danny Briere and the Flyers?
With Zegras signed, all eyes will now be on restricted free agent Jamie Drysdale, whose arbitration date is set for Monday, July 20.
Bill Meltzer reported earlier this week that neither player is expected to go to arbitration, though, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the Flyers are able to get a Drysdale contract signed before the end of the week.
The Flyers also have to get a deal done with RFA Nikita Grebenkin, but that is much less of a worry as the Russian forward is not arbitration-eligible. He’s likely to sign a short-term deal that won’t cost too much of the cap.
