Ducks Lose Trevor Zegras, Pavel Mintyukov Long-Term as Injury Woes Continue
The Anaheim Ducks will be without centre Trevor Zegras and rookie defenseman Pavel Mintyukov long-term, the club announced on Thursday.
Zegras, who crashed into the boards feet-first before being forced to leave Tuesday’s contest versus the Nashville Predators, is expected to miss six to eight weeks after fracturing his left ankle, which will require surgery.
Mintyukov also suffered a separated shoulder during the same game following a collision with Predators forward Michael McCarron, an ailment that will sideline the young blueliner for roughly six weeks.
These latest injury blows come just a few weeks after rookie sensation Leo Carlsson sprained the MCL in his right knee, putting him on the mend for four to six weeks. But it could’ve been far worse, with many bracing for a season-ending injury at the time.
It’s been a challenging couple of months for Zegras, who’s been fighting a losing battle against the injury bug, limiting him to just 20 games this season. He’s also struggled with on-ice production when healthy, scoring only four goals and seven points in 2023-24.
Zegras missed the first two weeks of Anaheim’s training camp while negotiating a new contract, which, after holding out as a restricted free agent, arrived in the form of a three-year, $17.25-million extension.
The 22-year-old’s deal includes a $5.75-million cap hit per season and runs through 2025-26. Upon conclusion, the Ducks forward will become an RFA again but with arbitration rights.
Losing Mintyukov for an extended period will likely be a tough void to overcome, especially for an Anaheim defensive corps that just traded Jamie Drysdale to the Philadelphia Flyers earlier this week. In return, of course, the franchise added young phenom Cutter Gauthier to its existing core.
That blockbuster acquisition should prove beneficial down the line. But for the time being, it won’t help replace the surprisingly impressive production from Mintyukov, who’s supplied two goals and 19 points along with solid defensive results, averaging 18:06 minutes across 40 games in his first professional campaign.
Without the 10th overall selection from 2022, the Ducks are expected to plug ice-time with newly acquired Gustav Lindstrom, a 25-year-old defenseman claimed off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.
Over five NHL seasons, Lindstrom – a second-round selection by Detroit in 2017 – has notched five goals and 29 points over 15:35 minutes per night in 142 career games split between the Red Wings and Canadiens. He also has 166 blocks and 139 hits during that span.
Amidst another rebuilding season, the Ducks sit 29th league-wide with a 14-26-1 record at the midway mark of the 2023-24 campaign. As such, all indications are they’ll act as sellers leading up to the March 8th trade deadline.
Zegras’ name had been floating around as a potential trade candidate before he broke his ankle. Given his six-to-eight-week timeline, there’s a chance he could return before that deadline passes, which would make him a viable trade chip once again.
But with the amount of time he’s already missed, plus the few competitive teams operating with sufficient cap space to absorb his contract, it may be challenging to locate a desirable offer. So, he could be safe for the time being.
Once the summer hits, though, the Ducks could utilize next off-season to further complement their young forward core of Mason McTavish, Troy Terry and Gauthier by subtracting Zegras from it and recouping some additional assets.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Jenn G. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.