If Anaheim is willing to give Willy $10m per year, why wouldn't they just sign Zegras for 3x$7m?

Idk but there are a few reports (watch the latest spitting Chiclets pod) that they are willing to sign Nylander for $10M but don't see Zegras worth more than $5M.

I'd also point out the Zegras' reputation is far greater than his actual value.

He's never had more than. 65 point or 23 goals. He seems like a star cause he's flashy and promoted by the league but he's horrible defensively and isn't actually a elite point scorer.

Spitting chicklets says the Ducks are WILLING or ABLE to sign Nylander to 10 AAV? We all know we can, doesn't mean we want to.

And seriously, more of this "he can't play defense" crap? No, he's never going to get Selkie votes, but he's also not Ovechkin defensively.

lol there not Zegras sucks

They said they have said they are willing to pay Nylander.

You are right tho saying he is horrible defensively isn't fair. He is bad but not Ovi level bad. He still backchecks and gets back he just isn't particularly effective in his own end or in creating turnovers. Definitely not a crazy negative but a negative nonetheless

Hmmm. Seems to me Willy's career high in points was 61 until he turned 25. Zegras is 22. Not hard to imagine his production goes up as he matures and the Ducks put better players around him. And I don't think Willy is any better than Zegras defensively. Neither guy is a threat to win a Selke.

As a Leafs fan, I would be all over this. Star for star, but we get younger and his cap hit will be lower for the next 2 years, so we can use that cap to upgrade other areas of our roster.

Saying that Zegras can't play defense as well as Nylander is just as asinine as saying that he hasn't scored as many points as Nylander -- Nylander is five years older. There's no reason why by the time he's 27, Zegras can't have learned how to defend responsibly, and Z has produced more points than Nylander at a comparable age.

And if you can't accept that, how about this . . . in the context of an entire team that hasn't learned how to play defense yet, it's hard to isolate exactly how well or how poorly Zegras does.

Yeah I’d do it I guess

No chance 🤦🏻. Nylander >> Zegras today & prob next 2-3 years after that, which lines up exactly with our window. Trade also makes no sense for Ducks whose window won’t open for similar timeframe (3-4 years) . Ridiculous rumour

But of cherry picking with Nylander's stats. He only had 2 80+ game seasons because of COVID/injuries before his age 26 season. (And those were his early 20s where he was matching Zegras' current production). If you go by points per games his best season was on pace for more than 70 points at age 24.

Also as always with Nylander you have to consider he didn't have the ice time/opportunities that Zegras has. Nylander is hard to judge cause he's always played with good players but he's also never been given top line time, his TOI is always 2-3mins per game less than Matthews/Marner. He isn't always on PP1 (wasn't after the O'Reilly trade last year, Foligno before that or when JVR, Marleau took his place).

What Nylander could have done with guaranteed PP1 and a full-time RW1 position isn't know.


I have no idea what he value is relative to Zegras, it's definetly a bit lower. I think Nylander is the better player and Zegras' ceiling is currently Nylander's floor but the financials and age make him less valuable. He has 3-5 years of top line play as a winger in him. Zegras has 10+ years of high end 2nd line play as a center in him.