At the 2010 NHL Draft, the Florida Panthers held the 123rd pick in the fifth round, selecting an 18-year-old from the OJHL's Hamilton Red Wings, Zach Hyman.
Coming off a 35-goal, 75-point campaign with the Red Wings, where he served as team captain, Hyman would outperform those totals during the 2010-11 season with 42 goals and 102 points in only 43 games. However, he didn’t make the jump to the OHL, AHL, or even the NHL; instead, he enrolled at the University of Michigan for the 2011-12 season.
During Hyman’s time in the NCAA, he failed to replicate his OJHL success, tallying just 13 goals and 33 points over his first three years at Michigan. Thankfully, in his senior season, he boosted his prospect profile with a 22-goal, 54-point campaign.
But at this stage, the Panthers opted to move on from Hyman, dealing him to the Toronto Maple Leafs with future considerations for Greg McKegg on June 19, 1995.
Immediately following the trade, Hyman debuted with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL and skated 16 games with the Maple Leafs. Since the 2016-17 season, he’s been a regular in the NHL, reaching double digits in every campaign with the Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers.
In 2018-19, Hyman scored 21 goals for the first time, replicating the total the following year. During a shortened 2020-21 season, he netted 15 before signing as a free agent with the Oilers on July 28, 2021. Alongside Connor McDavid, Hyman blossomed into a 30-goal scorer on two occasions, 2022-23 and 2025-26, while tallying a career-high 54 in 2023-24, the same year he played against the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.
Zach Hyman is unquestionably the best Free Agent signing in @EdmontonOilers team history.
— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) June 9, 2026
Has scored at a 38-goal pace (82 GP) in his 5 seasons in Oil Country.
Positive energy player...great person! https://t.co/3z7Rx29NvY
At 33, Hyman is a key member of Edmonton’s core and has two seasons left on his current deal that pays him $5.5 million annually. In 711 NHL games, he’s totaled 261 goals with 234 assists and 495 points with 67% of his lamplighters coming in an Oilers sweater.
Meanwhile, in exchange for Hyman, the Panthers acquired McKegg, who played 46 games with the organization, scoring only five goals and eight points. On Feb. 27, 2017, the Tampa Bay Lightning claimed him off waivers, bringing his time with the club to an end.
In the OHL, McKegg won a league championship with the London Knights in 2011-12. During his four junior seasons, he produced at more than a point-per-game average, only to see that number slashed in half in the AHL, with 244 points in 454 games. Although he played nine seasons in the NHL, McKegg scored only 21 goals and 39 points in 233 games, also spending time with New York (Rangers), Toronto, Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Boston.
Since 2024-25, McKegg, a native of St. Thomas, ON, CAN, has been overseas playing professional hockey, most recently suiting up in the Czechia league, KHL, and now the ICEHL with the Milano Hockey Club.
Although no one knew it at the time, the Panthers gave up on Hyamn, a one-time 50-goal scorer, early in his development, but in the end, won their only two championships against him and the Oilers.
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