Connor Zary of the Calgary Flames has been one of the NHL’s most promising players during his first two years in the league. He scored 14 goals and 20 assists as a rookie in 2023-24, often taking advantage of his notable speed to get involved in the middle of the Flames’ offensive attack.
His solid play has continued this year, although not quite at the same level. Zary has 12 goals and 12 assists in 49 games for the Flames. He has shown he can play a 200-foot game and do a solid job on the defensive end as well as create offensive thrusts. The one thing that Zary has not shown is a tendency to get involved in a hitting game and he certainly has avoided dirty play.
That has been the case — until Wednesday night. In Calgary’s home game against the Vancouver Canucks, Zary delivered a high elbow to unsuspecting Canucks defenseman Elias Nils Pettersson. Pettersson is a rookie for the Canucks and he should not be confused with the veteran center by the same name who also plays for the Canucks.
Zary has been suspended for two games by the NHL for his high hit on Pettersson. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety called Zary’s hit “retaliatory” and said the Calgary center ignored the rest of the action in the play so he could deliver his hit Pettersson.
Flames will miss Zary’s presence.
The Flames ended up losing to the Canucks by a 4-3 margin. The two teams were tied after 60 minutes of regulation and 5 minutes of overtime before the Canucks got the edge in the shootout.
The Flames are sitting in eighth place in the Western Conference and currently own the last playoff spot. They have 71 points, the same as the Canucks. However, the Flames have the edge because they have played one fewer game than the Canucks, and they have 24 regulation victories while the Canucks have just 23.
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