Following last night’s loss to the Vancouver Canucks, the Department of Player Safety has examined Connor Zary’s high hit on defenceman Elias Pettersson and given him a two-game suspension for elbowing. Here is the play in question:
What exactly happened?
Midway through the first, Nazem Kadri entered the offensive zone and took a hit from Pettersson. Zary then changed direction and delivered a high hit, elbow first, right into the head of Pettersson as a retaliation for the hit on Kadri. While it was a hard hit on Kadri, the hit was legal.
Zary was given a two-minute minor penalty on the play, but the NHL felt it warranted more punishment. In their explanation, they felt that this was a dangerous hit that was delivered purely in retaliation for the hit on Kadri. Given the way his movement changed, it was clear that he was standing up for his teammate.
This is Zary’s first suspension of his NHL career, and he was not much of a dirty player through junior or his AHL career. This kept the number of games he was suspended down as well.
The Flames’ forward will be out for the next two games against the Colorado Avalanche and Toronto Maple Leafs and is eligible to return when the Flames play the New York Rangers on Tuesday, March 18.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
