Trevor Zegras becomes first victim of NHL’s emphasis on jersey tuck rule vs. Bruins
Zegras got a minor for delay of game because his jersey was tucked in his pants during Thursday's preseason game. Players are not allowed to have their jerseys tucked to start their shift.
The biggest story line coming out of the Flyers’ 2-0 preseason win against the Boston Bruins on Thursday at Xfinity Mobile Arena should have been that the majority of the main roster got some action or Joseph Woll looked good again — reminder: last season the first shutout was in the playoffs — or that Matvei Michkov’s skating looks like he is floating now.
Instead, the Flyers went viral after Trevor Zegras got a minor for delay of game due to his equipment in the second period. The issue? His jersey was tucked into his pants before the shift started.
“I started the game with it tucked; that’s how I usually play,” Zegras said. “Must have just went back down the bench and came out and forgot.”
Zegras likes to play with jersey tucked into his pants; he’s done that for years. It is reminiscent of Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, who famously tucked the corner of his jersey into his pants; former Flyers forward Jaromir Jagr, who tucked his whole jersey; and the NHL’s all-time leader in goals, Alex Ovechkin, who tucks in his jersey, exposing the back plate of his pants.
But according to coach Rick Tocchet, the Flyers were told recently that the league would be cracking down on this exact equipment issue, specifically that players are not allowed to start the shift with their jerseys tucked.
Although no language in the 2026-27 rule book states that jerseys must not be tucked into pants, Rule 9.5 states:
“All protective equipment, except gloves, headgear, neck protection, and goalkeepers’ leg pads must be worn under the uniform. Should it be brought to the attention of the Referee that a player is wearing, for example, an elbow pad that is not covered by his jersey, he shall instruct the player to cover up the pad and a second violation by the same player would result in a minor penalty being assessed.
“Whenever it is deemed by the Referee that a player is wearing any equipment that does not meet with League regulations, he shall instruct the player to change or remove the piece of equipment. If the player refuses he shall be assessed a minor penalty for delay of game and if he returns to the ice without making the change he shall be assessed a misconduct penalty. Should this happen a third time, the player shall be assessed a game misconduct penalty.”
Zegras was warned in the first period, and he and teammate Travis Konency, who is an alternate captain, were seen speaking with referee Jon McIsaac at the end of the period about it.
“TK came over and explained, ‘Hey, Trevor’s got a warning,’” Tocchet said.
“Obviously he can’t do it anymore,” Tocchet continued, speaking on Zegras. “He’s got to put a tie-down because the regular season starts; we can’t have a penalty like that for a tucked-in jersey.”
A tie-down, which is also called a fight strap, secures the jersey to the pants. It was initially created to stop players from removing jerseys during an altercation. “I actually had to put Mich’s down. I made him put a tie-down on the bench. We’ll have tie-downs,” Tocchet said.
It reminded many of the time former goalie Ivan Fedotov was spotted pulling players’ jerseys down as they came to the bench two seasons ago.
