The Ducks will be without the services of forward Trevor Zegras for the foreseeable future after suffering a knee injury last week. After undergoing testing recently, it appears there is still some potential ambiguity regarding how much time he’ll miss. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that Zegras is seeking second opinions on what the best process will be to treat the injury, adding a more concrete timeline for how long he’ll be out for could come in the next day or two.
Last season was a rough one for Zegras. Contract talks dragged out, causing him to miss most of training camp and the preseason and he got off to a slow start that he never really recovered from. The 23-year-old missed considerable time with two significant injuries, limiting him to just 31 games where he underwhelmed with six goals and nine assists.
Nonetheless, after a summer of trade speculation, there was optimism that Zegras would be able to have a bounce-back year in 2024-25. Unfortunately for both him and the Ducks, that hasn’t really happened. Through 24 games this season, he has four goals and six assists in a little under 17 minutes a night of playing time.
With this report, it seems likely that Zegras won’t be adding to those numbers anytime soon. Often in these instances, the second opinion sought will be in the hopes of rehabbing an injury over undergoing a surgical procedure that would take considerably longer to recover from.
It’s worth noting that Zegras only has one year left on his bridge deal after this one, an agreement that carries a $5.75MM cap charge and qualifying offer along with arbitration eligibility. If his absence winds up being a long-term or season-ending one, there will be even more question marks around him heading into the 2025 offseason.