Ducks activate star forward off IR

After welcoming back two key young players in Mason McTavish and Jamie Drysdale on Thursday, the Ducks got another one back Saturday. The team announced (link) that Trevor Zegras has been activated off injured reserve and will suit up against Seattle.

The 22-year-old took quite a while to re-sign with Anaheim over the offseason, as it took until early October for the two sides to agree to terms on a three-year, $17.25M contract.  As a result, he was limited to just two preseason appearances.

The lack of training camp and exhibition action certainly seemed to take its toll in the early going this season as Zegras got off to a slow start offensively, notching just one goal and one assist in a dozen games. Meanwhile, new head coach Greg Cronin called his defensive struggles to attention. Things got worse soon after when he suffered a lower-body injury on Nov. 7, and he has missed 20 games since then.

With Zegras’ activation, Anaheim now actually has 24 players on its active roster, one over the maximum. However, with the roster freeze rules in effect, the Ducks don’t have any skaters who are allowed to be sent down. As they’re cap-compliant, they’re now temporarily permitted to be over the roster limit.

Meanwhile, the Ducks are still awaiting word on how long Leo Carlsson will be out of the lineup after he left Thursday’s game with a lower-body injury. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (link) that the initial prognosis is promising and that it won’t be a season-ending injury.