4 1sts (Beck picked at 33) and retaining 2.75M for 3 years aint it for Montreal. No team can offer that kind of package and no one will for Zegras. Not even Eichel got this kind of price.

You're looking at a team like Chicago offering a pick in the teens and a good prospect or two. Any Zegras trade means that Verbeek is trying to deal him and they'll take a loss on the player, regardless.

I understand. I am trying to understand the middle ground for what Ducks fan are willing to obtain for Zegras, and what a Habs fan might be willing to give up. (I originally offered Winnipeg 1st, Josh Anderson (retained 2.65m), Justin Barron and Sean Farrell, people were unhappy with that, to say the least)

As a die-hard Habs fan, I would no way in my right mind, do this.

Zegras don't have that value.

I understand but this isnt playstation.

Teams value certain qualities in players and the intangibles matter. You need certain type of players, especially a Beck. Just look at the playoffs right now and how teams like Leafs struggle with their 'big 4'

Beck is more important to this team than you realize and management isnt trading him. Hughes and co liked him so much so that they choose him 1st before Hutson and from everything we heard they only did that tactically because they knew everyone else was passing on Lane at the draft.

I cant grasp why so many Habs fans think Owen Beck could be traded. This started with the PLD rumours and I said over and over that I wouldnt trade Beck SU for PLD. I think we know how that turned out. Rob Blake would have to take a contract dump to take on that PLD deal at 7 more years.

Would you trade Danault and 3 1sts for Zegras...?... because that's what this can trade can look like, in the end.
The Habs wont do anything close to this and neither will any other team.
Ducks fans can whine and moan all they want about their 'winging..errr winning core' but any Zegras deal means that they choose to lose him and they'll pay for that decision and zero patience.

I agree Beck is untouchable. Mesar is not (although I don't think moving on from him is good at all). Mesar and Farrell are similar. Farrell is Mesar Lite imo. (The point of this Arm-Chair GM was to try and find a middle ground between what Ducks want and what the Habs are willing to give, even though it seems to very unlikely. The ask is way too far off from the offer. )

https://www.capfriendly.com/forums/thread/826029?post_id=4846356. (This is the other one I made earlier today)

Hughes is quoted as saying that they didnt need to draft Shane Wright because they were always targeting Beck. I mean...that says, everything!

You'll never find a middle ground btw because the Ducks org is a mess with many different philosophies and the Ducks fans don't share Verbeek's vision from what I've seen here, there is a giant disconnect from reality.

You try to please everyone and you please no one. Dont try because most Habs fans will just rip any trade involving Zegras apart if it even comes close to 'pleasing' Ducks fans.
Secondly, most trades please no one and are a compromise. Most Ducks fans want guaranteed here with Slafkovky or Reinbacher plus plus.

I think Ducks fans would be unhappy with any return tbh. No one wants to see Zegras traded, the Ducks are so much better with him on the ice as we've seen at the end of the season, even though the points didn't show it before these last 10 games or so. Although it's important to note that he was still battling the effects of an injury before he came back towards the end of the season. I just don't see there being a deal that fans of either team would like. On paper this is more than Zegras is worth but he's such an important part of the Ducks' roster and the returning pieces are probably once again pushing the timeline back. Anaheim wants to get out of the rebuild, this would probably extend it by a decent bit. I'm not saying this is an unfair deal towards the Ducks but the fans would probably be unhappy with any deal.

Thank you for your honest responses. Both Andy_Dick & TZ11. Appreciate the candidness and the intellectual stimulation. (Many emotion-driven fans on this site, which isn't bad lol, but really glad to see two very logically argued reasonings to understand what's going on both sides.) Thank you.

Same injury that kept Logan Couture out basically all season!

I do agree we certainly don’t want to see Z gone but he does also make us better when he is on the ice like you said. When he is behind the goal line, you can sometimes see at least 3 heads turn to him to try and see what he isn’t doing since he can create plays in so many ways

Look at any thread in the trade forum. The 1st page of responses are usually emotional and incorrect. Par for the course. The easiest thing here is to be dismissive and tribal in anonymity so you can feel tall and part of a group.
It's always going to be a cesspool when you deal with fandom especially these days with a lack of community and entertainment in Hollyweird being awful. People want an escape in sports.

Fan does actually stand for fanatic

Yeah but since he not a UFA for 4 more years his auctual value doesn't matter, because his value Anaheim says it is. But waiting until he's a UFA might be the smart move it will right around the time Montreal is coming out of their rebuild.

The Ducks aren't "moving on" from Trevor Zegras any more than the Habs are "moving on" from Cole Caufield.

I don't remember the Habs having trouble signing Caufield to a long term contract and him holding out. I don't think Anaheim wants to move on from Zegras but I also don't think he's a Verbeek type player and that's evident from how far apart they were in contract discussions.

Pat Verbeek didn't "have trouble signing" Zegras to a long-term contract; he didn't offer him one.

Then why use Caufield as a comparison when there's that major difference in organizations opinion of their player? Lol

This is why everyone is speculating a Zegras trade, him and management are on shaky grounds.

Imo, middle ground for Zegras would be a pick 8 to 10 OA this draft. So if we trade for one of those picks and flip it for Z, we’re looking at good middle ground, imo

If the Habs were moving on from Caufield, not that they are, what would you offer for him? (You cannot add Zegras to this mock trade)
What I would like to understand is what you consider a fair package, in terms of value. (eg. Josh Anderson, a power forward, with 50% retained, has value, how much can be debated, but this in my eyes is not a cap dump like some are claiming.)

Nobody but Gretzky is worth 3x1st+. Certainly not Zegras.

Just maybe, Connor McDavid

Dont let facts interfere with Ducks fans and their logical fallacies, its all they have when they hear Zegras name.



They already said Reinbacher or Slafkovsky plus. It's laughable. You probably wont get an answer because there are too many logical ppl in this thread. But the mask comes off when you push them. All their miserable seasons do is make them think they 'deserve' some kind of package for their emotional investment in Zegras. And they act like nobody knows his talent when hes on the cover of video games lmao

What an absurdedly fatuous statement. On-ice value is what determines whether two players are comparable, not how intelligent their respective front offices are. "LOL" indeed.

The fact that you see three firsts here, and the fact that you think all firsts are the same, are emblematic of the myopia that afflicts many Habs fans.

Pavel Mintyukov.

Calgary 1st in 2025 (is a 1st)
Justin Barron (2020 1st, Pick 25)
Filip Mesar (2022 1st, Pick 26)
Owen Beck (2022 2nd, Pick 33) = Almost a 1st

I am not saying Anaheim wants to trade Zegras. But that is 3 firsts and more. And no 3 1st rounders have the same value. We understand that.

In reference:
Jack Eichel to Vegas:
16th overall, 17th overall, and 18th overall pick coming back to Buffalo.

What would you like from Chicago for Zegras?

I understand we are in hypotheticals so... do you believe Pavel Mintyukov and Zegras have the same value. (eg.you would trade the 10th overall pick in this years draft for either player)?