Trevor Zegras A Trade Target For Central Division Team

His name has been on and off the rumor mill ever since the trade deadline last March. Now Anaheim Ducks' center/winger Trevor Zegras has been linked to the Chicago Blackhawks. Again.

Brook Lofurno of Chicago Hockey Now cited David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period as noting that the Hawks are in the market for a second-line center. She adds that this has been a lingering issue going back to last season, then goes on to suggest that Zegras, as Pagnotta brought up, could be the answer to Chicago's 2C question. And it wouldn't be the first time, as the Hawks were rumored to be interested in the Ducks' fourth-year talent earlier this summer.

Blackhawks’ talk around that possibility intensified then, but young centers are a luxury. However, the Blackhawks have a lot of draft capital to offer. They have 13 draft picks in the first three rounds of the next three NHL drafts. They have two first-round picks in 2025 and may be willing to dangle one if the price is right.

In addition, she notes that general manager Kyle Davidson has made it clear that he'd be more than happy to put that abundance of draft capital to use in a deal to bring in specific help for the roster, which leads Lofurno to believe that "a trade seems like a realistic possibility at some point".

Zegras has been used as a winger this season in Anaheim, but so far has just one goal and two points in eight games. He had a write-off of a season last year, injured for much of the campaign, and recording just six goals and 15 points in 31 games.

We'll have to keep an eye on Chicago, who thus far, behind top-line center Connor Bedard, have used the likes of Philipp Kurashev, Jason Dickinson, Andreas Athanasiou, Lukas Reichel, and Ryan Donato in the pivot. Captain Nick Foligno skated as the second-line center on Monday morning in advance of their game against the Colorado Avalanche.