Ha! Yeah, of course, I'm still here. I'm still banning spambots every once in awhile.
I've thought of bumping this thread a few times. Like in back in 2023 when the Penguins playoff streak came to end and for the first time in almost 20 years (specifically the lockout year), neither the Ducks or the Penguins were in the playoffs so I didn't really have a team to follow. And now that has continued with neither Ducks or Penguins in 2024 or 2025.
And you know what? I've kind of found it to be a relief. The amount of hockey I was watching say back 15 years ago in which I was subscribed to Center Ice and watching most of the regular season games for those two clubs and then all the playoff games to now in which I watched like 4 games in the past season is a big change. I'd say COVID was sort of the catalyst that accelerated the change. Sure the NHL did a playoff format of some kind but, to me, that was alost season and one wonders what might have been had it been able to continue uninterrupted like that. Then the bubble season the following year was just so-so and awkward. 2022 got me kind of excited again but then the playoffs began in which Penguins faced off against the Rangers and it was just so aggravating as the Rangers proceeded to injure like a third of the Penguins team through the first 4 games. The Penguins were forced to use their third string goalie and they were still dominating and winning with a 3-1 series lead. Finally, the Rangers were able to injure and concuss Crosby and that finally allowed them to start winning and they won the series thanks to their work of depleting the Penguins line-up. I was so glad to see the Rangers implode this year and those players sent packing all over the league.
That experience also brings me to another point in why no playoffs has been a relief. The realization of how invested I'd become. All these highs and lows over something that I have no say in or can affect the outcome in anyway. The playoff losses would leave me feeling down for days. And ultimately, the longer you are a fan then the more losses you are going to see. The Penguins made the playoffs for 16 years. 4 of those runs made it to the Finals with 3 wins. 25% of the time, the team made it to the Finals. Yet they were also knocked out in the first round 8 times or 50% of the time. In a way, that seems right for the odds. Technically, every series is 50/50 of whether a team will win or lose. Overall, the Penguins lost about 82% of the time they were in the Playoffs. That's a lot of time spent watching a team lose. That's a lot of time I had committed to watching a negative outcome and be disappointed or upset at the result. Even if you go by the regular season, a team making the playoffs may usually win around 45 games. In an 82 game season, that's about 55% of the time they are winning but it's still 45% of the time they are losing which is close to 50/50. Following the regular season of a team and it will likely be about half the time you are watching them lose which, again, seems like a lot of time spent on something just to get a negative outcome. (And for some quick Ducks math, let's start with 2003 to present. They made the playoffs 12 times and won 1 cup which means they lost in the playoffs about 92% of the time.)
And I haven't even touched on the whole referee situation and how the NHL is unable to find consistency in its rulings which is further frustration in being a fan. In any case, by drifting away from hockey more and using that time watching games doing other things like playing games or watching movies or reading or whatever else has felt like better time spent. As a further aside, instead of the NHL Playoffs, I actually got more excited about the Ice Hockey World Championships when it turned out Crosby was going to be playing with Fleury and MacKinnon for team Canada. That seemed like it could be a fun event to see Crosby reunited with Fleury and maybe winning one more championship together along with his Nova Scotia buddy in MacKinnon. Instead, they got upset and knocked out in their first quarterfinal game. Cue the Futurama quote!
Now with all of that griping and wall of text information you didn't ask about done, let's actually get to the question Insanolord did ask. How do I feel about the trade? It's a mixed feeling. Honestly, I've watched very little of the Ducks play in the past 5 years. Like maybe 3 or 4 games of theirs. With them having been basement dwellers for so long, its' been hard to care much about the team. That said, when Zegras first joined the team, he brought a lot of attention to the Ducks and it created a hope that maybe this team would be competing again in the playoffs pretty soon like in 2 or 3 years depending on some other future trades or other rookies joining the team. However, that hope soon faded and just didn't hear or see many stories about Zegras after that rookie year aside from trade rumours. Ultimately, my take is just that Zegras represented potential. Having not really seen him play much, it's hard for me to have an opinion on whether the Ducks should have tried to hold onto him longer or not. It's particularly vexing since it seems like the Ducks may finally be trying to take a step towards playoff contention again. It was a bit of a better season for them last year. The Quenneville hiring suggests management may be thinking there's a possibility that this team can get to the playoffs and is hoping his coaching experience can do that. I'd like to have seen what Zegras could do on a playoff contending team and a bit of a stronger roster. It's untapped potential now. No idea what difference he could have made with the team in the playoffs or if it was more of a contender. At the same time, he's gone through some injuries so maybe that could have an effect on him. I think of Matt Murray and how much his career got derailed from a couple concussions and injuries. Accumulated injuries can take their toll on a person and stunt their ability.
It's also been discussed how Zegras is more suited as a center but the Ducks have been playing him on the wing because they feel they've got two other players stronger as the first and second line centers. To me, that's one of the dumbest reasons to trade a player. That suggests a failing by the coaching of the team. You know what helped make the Penguins a dominant team during 2007 - 2012? It was having 3 top centers in Crosby, Malkin and Staal. Jordan Staal was their third line center but that wasn't a knock on his ability. It was just where he fell compared to Crosby and Malkin. Staal's been the top line center with the Hurricanes for like a decade after they traded him in 2012 which just shows the crazy riches the Penguins had during that time when it came to centers. After they traded Staal, they were much weaker. If Crosby was injured, they'd move Malkin to the top line and Staal to the second and keep rolling. If Malkin was injured, again, Staal could go to the second line. Having multiple talented centers is a good thing. The Penguins managed to find some good centers for their third and fourth line with Bonino and Cullen in 2016 and were able to get back to back Stanley Cups with them. When they lost Bonino and Cullen in those positions, they struggled again to find suitable replacement centers for those lines and its been diminishing returns ever since. Why the Ducks couldn't have Zegras as a third line center if that is his better position is beyond me. Just indicative of the team failing the player.
Ultimately, whether this was a smart trade or not will be decided in the next few seasons on how things end up for the players. Did the Ducks give up too soon? Is having older Rangers players a better choice than keeping a younger player with more potential? Zegras seems happy enough about the trade and reconnecting with some friends of his on the Flyers. Maybe that gets him motivated and producing more. I don't know. Ducks have a weapon in cap space that they keep holding onto. At some point, they may finally make some moves and spend big on some other established talented players and a player like that may make up for whatever they would have had with keeping Zegras. I just don't get what the urgency was for the Ducks in needing to trade Zegras now.
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