The NHL is officially chasing shadows. During the Philadelphia Flyers’ 2-0 preseason win over the Boston Bruins on Thursday, the league found a way to ruin the flow of a game with a ridiculous call. Trevor Zeglar got slapped with a two-minute minor for delay of game just because his jersey was tucked into his pants. It is soft, it is unnecessary, and it is a complete waste of time for everyone involved.
The ridiculous equipment crackdown
This wasn’t just a random bad call. The league is clearly looking for ways to enforce minor rules that nobody cares about. According to 930 WFMD Free Talk, the officials were instructed to watch for things like jerseys, visors, and neck guards. Zegras was caught with the back of his sweater tucked in. While the rulebook has specific language about equipment, this feels like a massive distraction from actual hockey.
The stats show how long it has been since we saw this kind of nonsense. Per reports, the last time a player was penalized for a tucked jersey was in 2013. We went over a decade without this being an issue, and suddenly it is the story of the night. It is pure theater that serves no purpose for the fans or the players.
Zegras was caught off guard
The player himself was clearly not expecting a penalty for his fashion choice. “My jersey was tucked in before the shift,” Zegras said. He also noted that he usually plays with it tucked in. According to reports, Zegras confirmed that officials had already issued a warning earlier in the game. He simply forgot to untuck it when he came back to the ice after a break.
The officials had a chance to let it go with a simple warning, but they chose to drop the hammer. It is a mistake a kid makes in pee-wee hockey, not a professional athlete in a high-stakes league. There is no way this should result in a minor penalty.
Coaches are already fed up
The coaching staff is already feeling the heat from these new enforcement trends. Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet said the team received a heads-up about these changes a few weeks ago. “They told us, in all fairness, two, three weeks ago,” Tocchet said. He even mentioned that he had to tell Matvei Michkov to keep his jersey down on the bench to avoid similar trouble. It is absurd that a coach has to manage jersey placement instead of game strategy. The league needs to focus on the hits and the goals, not the length of a sweater.
