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Will hit on Flames’ Connor Zary result in suspension to Ducks’ Drew Helleson?
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Photo credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Ryan Pike
Jan 8, 2025, 01:49 EST
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On Tuesday night in Anaheim, Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary was injured in a knee-on-knee collision with Anaheim Ducks defenceman Drew Helleson.
On the sequence, which unfolded at 6:43 of the second period, Helleson was given a major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct. Zary had to be helped off the ice and to the locker room, and he did not return to the game.
The collision was ugly and resulted in an injury to an important Flames player. But will it result in a suspension, or other supplemental discipline, to Helleson? Let’s delve into past rulings by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety to weigh the possibilities.

Recent kneeing suspensions

There are three recent suspensions that are probably most useful to evaluate the Helleson on Zary hit.
Oct. 3, 2023: Arthur Kaliyev (Kings) on Chase de Leo (Ducks) – four* game suspension
In this scenario, Kaliyev went to hit de Leo, and when de Leo tried to elude the hit, Kaliyev stuck his leg out to get a piece of him – leading to the knee-on-knee contact. Kaliyev was suspended for two pre-season games and two regular season games.
Dec. 22, 2022: Mason Shaw (Wild) on Evgeni Svechnikov (Sharks) – two games
On this sequence, Shaw went to hit Svechnikov and jutted his leg out when Svechnikov tried to avoid the contact. This resulted in a two game suspension.
Dec. 5, 2021: Neal Pionk (Jets) on Rasmus Sandin (Maple Leafs) – two games
Tell us if a pattern is emerging: on this sequence, Sandin fired a shot on net. Pionk was rushing over to him to attempt to check him before the shot, then awkwardly collided with him with as Sandin began to turn away after the initial shot. As with the others, he changed his body position mid-approach in order to make contact with Sandin rather than miss him entirely.
Long story short, the suspensions – and even the recent kneeing fines – involve guys either sticking their legs out (suspensions) or making awkward, reckless contact after a player had gotten rid of the puck (fines).
So let’s take a look at the Helleson on Zary hit from a couple angles.
The challenge for Player Safety is this: how much do you factor in Zary’s movement as he approaches Helleson? Helleson sees Zary coming, sets his approach, and seems to be squared up to make contact with Zary’s core – you can see this on the slow motion replay from the Sportsnet broadcast.
We’ve seen Zary dance around defenders a lot this season. Our Robert Munnich even clipped a bunch of his sweet dangles earlier this season.
So if you’re Helleson: you see Zary coming and square up to try to knock him on his butt. If you’re Zary, you see in Helleson a blueliner that you can dance around to create a scoring chance. Neither guy really had the play unfold like they intended, unfortunately, and an injury resulted.

The verdict

It’s an ugly collision that caused an injury and Helleson was kicked out of the game as a result, but based on how Player Safety has ruled on somewhat similar kneeing incidents in the past, we’re not sure if it rises to the level of supplemental discipline.
We’ll see how the league office sees it in the next day or two. The Flames are back in action on Wednesday in Los Angeles, while the Ducks next play on Thursday in St. Louis.

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