The claim that Danny Brière “fleeced” Anaheim refers to the June 23, 2025, trade where the Flyers, led by General Manager Danny Brière, acquired forward Trevor Zegras from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Ryan Poehling, a 2025 second-round pick (45th overall), and a 2026 fourth-round pick.
Briere didn’t say it, but they are looking at Zegras to fill a top six roll down the middle, “Calling around the league, finding Centers, it’s almost impossible,” Briere said at his presser yesterday .”You are not going to find a first-line or second-line center.”
Brière continued to tell why Zegras’s value wasn’t sky high, “Injuries were a factor the last couple of years. Other than that, it’s tough for us to tell on the outside, we’re not in the room, we’re not with the coaching staff, with the other players, sometimes it could be chemistry, as well. So I’m not too sure.
Zegras, a 24-year-old with back-to-back 60+ point seasons in 2021-22 and 2022-23, brings creativity and offensive flair, though injuries limited him to 15 points in 31 games in 2023-24 and 15 points in 10 games in 2024-25. Poehling, a bottom-six center, contributed speed and penalty-killing but lacks Zegras’ upside. The Flyers retained their higher-value draft picks, including three first-rounders in 2025, making the trade appear as a low-risk, high-reward move for the orange and black.
The first-round picks for us were a ‘No Go’ from the start,” Briere saye. “We spent a lot of time and a lot of frustration acquiring those first-round picks, so we are trying to be extra careful with that.”
With what the Flyers gave up to obtain Zegras, this is a Low Risk-High Reward move. Zegras could be seen as a reclamation project, much like Owen Tippett was, when Tippett was traded from Florida, or Ryan Poehling for that matter. If Zegras turns into being a quality top six center for the Flyers, then they have struck gold, especially with how little they gave up to a massive void within their lineup.
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