Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras has been suspended three games for an illegal check to the head of Michael Rasmussen of the Detroit Red Wings.
The headshot came late in the second period of Saturday’s game in Detroit. Rasmussen banked the puck off the glass, with Zegras cutting across the middle of the ice and catching him with a shoulder to the head well after the puck was gone.
No penalty was called on the play; the officials reportedly told Detroit Red Wings coach Todd McLellan that they missed the hit. Rasmussen left the ice and did not return to the game.
From the NHL’s Department of Player Safety:
Rasmussen skates the puck into the neutral zone on the rush with Zegras tracking him through center. Rasmussen attempts an indirect pass off the glass to a teammate. Then, as the puck was released and outside the window where a check may be legally finished, Zegras delivers a late, high hit that makes significant contact with Rasmussen’s head. This is interference.
Players who are not in possession of the puck are never eligible to be checked. However, the interference rule provides a brief window where a player who initiates a check while his opponent is in possession of the puck may finish the hit. This is not such a play.
Here, Zegras begins his hitting motion after Rasmussen releases the puck, and contact is made outside the window where a check may be legally finished. In addition to the lateness, what causes this hit to rise to a level of supplemental discipline is the significant head contact on this play combined with the force.
This is the first NHL suspension for Zegras. He was fined once – in 2022, for slashing.
Zegras forfeits $89,843.76 in salary as a result of the suspension.
