The NHL’s most star OCA is still without a contract. Why can’t Zegras and Anaheim reach a deal?
Dmitry Storozhev September 8, 2023, 18:50 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
It seems that the promising forward does not have much desire to get involved in an unpromising team for a long time.
There are less than three weeks left until Anaheim’s first preseason game. A team that had a disgusting end in the previous regular season, losing 13 games in a row, can hardly count on a good performance in the next championship – the Ducks practically did not get stronger at all during the offseason (the only high-profile transfer was the signing of Alex Killorn from Tampa), and a month before the start of the new season, the main problem for the Ducks’ management, which must be solved as soon as possible, is the retention of two restricted free agents.
One of them is 21-year-old defender Jamie Drysdale. The young Canadian was supposed to become one of the main faces of the new Anaheim, but these plans were interrupted by a serious injury that the player suffered a year ago at the start of a trouble-free championship. The Ducks have just about all the time in the world to negotiate with Drysdale: Since Jamie hasn’t spent enough NHL seasons, the rest of the league’s clubs have no right to offer him. The defender has just recovered from injury and it is unlikely that he will be ready for the start of the season, so the parties have the opportunity to discuss a new agreement in a calmer atmosphere.
Jamie Drysdale
Photo: Ashley Landis/AP/TASS
The situation is completely different for another young “duckling” Trevor Zegras. The most stellar OSA this offseason and Anaheim’s leading scorer last season opted out of his rookie contract in full and quickly became one of the cornerstones of the Ducks. It is even more surprising that the Californians have yet to reach an agreement with their first center and the most media person on the team (last year, Zegras became the first player from Anaheim to appear on the cover of an NHL video game). .
This year Cale Makar will be on the cover:
Photo
Colorado defenseman Cale Makar will appear on the cover of NHL 24
At the same time, just over a month ago another important OSA “duck” was expanded. True, they almost had to take the case to court – Troy Terry signed a seven-year contract with the Ducks worth $49 million shortly before the scheduled hearing. According to Zegras’ contract, it is not yet possible to go to court; To do this, the player must spend at least four seasons in the National Hockey League, and the American only has three.
“Hopefully we can do something soon. I miss California and my teammates, it would be great to go back there. This situation is out of my control. There are people who do those things, but in the summer I have to do the same thing as always,” Zegras said a month ago. During this time, he has barely calmed down and with each day of uncertainty, his nervousness, like that of the Anaheim fans, grows more and more.
It is also not likely that the latest messages from one of the leading insiders in the entire NHL, Elliott Friedman, will add optimism to Ducks fans, who, however, should not worry about the very fact of signing a new contract, but his duration may raise questions. : “Most likely his new contract will be with Anaheim, it will be a bridge or a very short-term agreement. Now there is no reason to believe that the negotiations are moving towards the conclusion of a long-term agreement, and it seems that this is in the interest of both parties, “Friedman concluded on NHLNetwork.
Friedman’s words about Vancouver’s main star:
Insider Friedman spoke about Pettersson’s future in Vancouver
It is not very clear why this would suit both parties. As for Zegras, he still has five seasons left to play before entering the NCA market; The concept of “bridge contract” does not extend to that period. There is no prospect of fighting for the Stanley Cup in the next few years in Anaheim, but Zegras can win it back in California (for now he has no other choice). In addition, the Club has money for a significant increase in salaries – the Ducks have at their disposal more than 16.5 million dollars for two OCAs, and this is not counting the increase in the cap in the coming years.
The center forward would be interested in signing a five-year contract with a salary cap of $8 million; Under the current conditions, it would be absolutely fair for him to ask for that salary, and during the deal he would have a chance to establish himself as one of the league’s top stars and gauge the Ducks’ ambitions. In general, the situation is like Kirill Kaprizov and Minnesota two years ago.
Even after one year in the NHL, big contracts are handed out:
$64 million after the NHL season? The 21-year-old American defender won a big prize
“Anaheim”, like the “savages” of its time, should be interested in retaining its main star as much as possible – the probability of retaining Zegras if he enters the free agent market in five years is still close to zero. And this means the loss of the first center (although by then Leo Karlsson will have grown up) and the next stage of restructuring the “ducks”, which cannot yet enter the active phase.
