No surgery, but rehab for Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary

CALGARY — Forward Connor Zary doesn't require surgery after ugly knee-on-knee contact in a game earlier this week, but he's out of the Calgary Flames' lineup indefinitely.

Zary left Tuesday's road game against Anaheim after colliding with Ducks defenceman Drew Helleson in the second period. Helleson received a major penalty and game misconduct.

Flames head coach Ryan Huska said early Friday that Zary was still undergoing evaluation, but the team said in a statement later in the day the 23-year-old would start rehabilitation immediately.

Zary was tied for fourth in Flames' points with 10 goals and 12 assists in 40 games.

"Connor's quietly come into his own this year with his poise and his possession skills that he does have with the puck," Huska said.

"A lot of times on the ice, he's a guy that has been generating some of our more dangerous chances, so you're definitely going to miss that. He's been a key to one of our power plays.

"When you lose a player like that, whether it's a game or 10 games, you'll most definitely miss him. Having said that, it's (an) opportunity for someone else, in his absence to step up and try to make a name for themselves."

Zary, who was selected by the Flames in the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft, had 14 goals and 20 assists in 63 games last season.

Calgary called up centre Rory Kerins from the American Hockey League's Calgary Wranglers ahead of Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Kings.

Kerins led the AHL in goals with 21 and ranked second in points with 34. The 22-year-old from Caledon, Ont., was a sixth-round draft pick of the Flames in 2020.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2025.

The Canadian Press