Philly Front Office

UPDATE: I originally wrote that 7-year max extensions begin this season, but they start next year, so the contract was adjusted for 8 years instead of 7

Rumor has it that the Flyers and offseason acquisition Trevor Zegras are engaging in extension talk. If they aren’t, they damn well better be! Zegras has been a godsend to the 2025-26 Flyers, providing not just a talent upgrade, but the leadership and sound bites to be the next captain of the Flyers. The only problem is that he will be a restricted free agent¹ at the end of the season. The team is trying to fix that. So, how much is he going to cost?

Flyers Playoff Countdown

There are some things to know before we get started. First, there was recently a change to the NHL collective bargaining agreement that limits the max number of contract years to 7 for players re-signing with their current team beginning next year. This is down from the 8-year contracts signed by so many other Flyers. Second, NHL contracts are going up. The hockey business is good and growing right now which has caused the salary cap to go up considerably. In 2024, the max was $88m but will be up to $104m for next season and $113.5m the following year. Yes, that means more money to spend, but it also means players will want a higher percentage of that amount. It is just how things go.

Zegras

Zegras came over in an offseason trade with the Ducks after injuries, ineffectiveness, and loss of faith from management made him expendable. No one doubted his talent, but a fresh start was certainly needed. A 2nd, a 4th, and a Ryan Poehling later, he was coming to Philadelphia. He is a former top 10 pick who is about to tally his 3rd 60-point season in what will very likely be his best statistical year by the time the season concludes. While he had previously signed a 3/$17.25m contract, at 25 years old, Zegras will be seeking a significant pay raise and future stability. It should also be noted that teammate Jamie Drysdale was also with him in Anaheim and is his best friend in the world. That seems relevant for some reason considering Drysdale is a restricted free agent too.

What we have is a player with serious potential, but not a ton of track record. However, his first season with the Flyers has been fantastic. Shootouts are automatic and he’s never small in big moments considering his game against Anaheim and the winner in OT this week against Dallas. He will also serve as a great mentor and linemate with young guys Porter Martone and Matvei Michkov. The best version of the Flyers consists of him playing with both those guys.

Flyers Christmas Gift: Sweet Baby Zegras

Comps

No good contract estimate is worth making without looking at the comparable contracts signed by others matching the player’s age, production, and position. This is the part of the job I love:

• Owen Tippett – Look no further than one of Zegras’s linemates who signed a 8/$49.6m contract before last season. I put this first because there is simply no way Zegras signs for less than this $6.2m AAV. Consider this a framing device. Despite being the same age when the deal was signed, Zegras plays a more premium position and has higher end production.
• Martin Necas – Before this season, the Colorado Avalanche extended the recently acquired Necas for 8/$92m, an $11.5m AAV. Necas was 26 at the time of the extension and still had a year of contract remaining. To that point, Necas had provided more consistent scoring and two seasons better than anything put up by Zegras. If Tippett was the low end, consider Necas the high end.
• Travis Konecny – I hate to go back to the Flyers well, but we have a glut of above average, not-quite-elite talent signed to recent long term deals. Konecny signed his 8/$70m contract when he was 27 and after putting up several 60-ish point seasons. Is this a great contract now? Not really, but it certainly isn’t bad either and the $8.75m AAV looks better as the cap continues to grow.

There are simply not too many comps for someone like Zegras. While he is certainly not a superstar, he does have that kind of upside with more talent around him. Making it more difficult is that there are not too many 25-year-old centers with that kind of upside who haven’t been locked up already.

Flyers Trade for Trevor Zegras!

Flyers

Motivating the Flyers in this situation is the dearth of center talent on the roster. After Zegras, there’s newly extended Christian Dvorak and past his prime Sean Couturier. With an expanding roster of wings and no one there to center them, the Flyers simply NEED Zegras. Even in the off chance that an elite center happens to become available, Zegras would then slide down to the 2nd unit or slide over to one of the wing positions. It is a much-desired problem. Bottom line is that Zegras has what the Flyers need: talent.

The Flyers will finally have some breathing room under the salary cap next year with only $63m in commitments (around $40m in room) and potential to shed more money. Even after locking up Drysdale and Zegras (and possibly extending Vladar), they will have plenty of room to actually make some moves. Committing to Zegras simply shouldn’t be a problem.

Zegras is not Necas, but he could be eventually. That is the position his camp will take in contract talks. The Flyers will definitely go to the max of 8 years because they always do. While they would love to keep his AAV below $10m per season, that’s the kind of threshold an agent wants to get too. The Flyers have the money to indulge him. Let’s go with 8/$80m. This will make him the highest paid Flyer, but also a staple of the franchise for years to come. While this number may seem high, it reflects a rising cap and faith in Zegras as a team leader for the future.

Contracts: Spotrac

Stats: Hockey Reference

Photo: AP Photo/Chris Szagola

1. For anyone wondering, the RFA status means that the player will be able to solicit offers from other teams and even sign a contract called an offer sheet. However, the original team will have the right to match the same terms of that offer sheet and both the RFA and the team that signs him will have to abide by the original team’s decision. If the offer is not matched then the signing team owes the previous team compensation based on the value of the contract. If the player does not sign an offer sheet and also cannot agree on an extension with his current team, then the two parties can go to salary arbitration. ↩︎