Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek defended Trevor Zegras when asked about the young forward's lacrosse-type goals.
Verbeek acknowledged the phenom's skillful individual plays wouldn't have gone over well when the GM was a player, but the executive has changed his stance on the issue.
"From my perspective, if you would have done that in my era, it's frowned upon. Right? Very frowned upon," Verbeek told The Athletic's Eric Stephens on Tuesday.
"So, I think there's still a little bit of that mentality out there. Now, we've gotten a lot of feedback. A lot of people (think) it's a positive thing. I think people light up when you watch (Connor) McDavid run through and totally undress players. ... Through the neutral zone with the speed and the skill. The ability to be able to handle the puck with speed and do that. For me, people love that. I love watching that.
"Now, when I watch Trevor, this is just another unreal skill set and creative way to score goals. I guess what I'm trying to do, I'm trying to really stick up for my player in the sense that there's people that really think this is hot-dogging, or it's not respecting the game. I don't feel that way anymore."
Verbeek added: "He respects the game, and he respects the traditions of the game."
Zegras has captivated the hockey world with his on-ice ingenuity, but not everyone approves.
Arizona Coyotes broadcaster and former NHL enforcer Tyson Nash was criticized for essentially saying Zegras deserved the cross-check he received from Coyotes veteran Jay Beagle late in a game in early April. Zegras scored a lacrosse-style goal earlier in that contest.
"That's the problem sometimes with these young players," Nash said during the incident, in which Beagle also initiated a fight with Ducks youngster Troy Terry. "You want to embarrass guys? You wanna skill it up? You better be prepared to get punched in the mouth."
The broadcaster later tried to clarify his comments during a podcast interview but doubled down on his original opinion. Nash admitted he should have said "hot dog" instead of "skill it up." However, he added that he didn't like the way Ducks players smiled and smirked after scoring goals and said the Coyotes' response in that game "is what you have to be prepared for."
Zegras called it "humiliating" that Beagle went after and pummelled Terry, the Ducks' leading scorer.
The Coyotes weren't the first in the hockey community to take issue with Zegras. Former NHL head coach John Tortorella questioned whether the Ducks star's "Michigan" goal was good for the game after Zegras pulled it off for the first time in the NHL back in December.
Verbeek racked up 522 goals and 541 assists over 1,424 games in his 20-year playing career, which ended in 2001-02.
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