Flyers' Zegras penalized for tucking in his jersey

Trevor Zegras went to the penalty box Thursday night for the way he wore his sweater.

The Philadelphia Flyers forward was given a minor penalty for "improperly wearing the equipment" in the second period of a 2-0 preseason home win over the Boston Bruins, after officials had warned him about tucking his jersey into his pants.

"My jersey was tucked in at the start of my shift. So after a warning, they said that's an automatic penalty," Zegras said. "I started the game with it tucked, which is obviously how I usually play."

According to Scouting The Refs, a site that follows NHL officiating, no player had been penalized for a tucked jersey since 2013.

Rule 9.5 states that "all protective equipment, except gloves, headgear, neck protection, and goalkeepers' leg pads must be worn under the uniform." Rule 12.1, the illegal-equipment rule, calls for a warning first and then a minor penalty.

Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said the league told teams a few weeks ago that officials would focus this season on how equipment is worn. The solution is the jersey tie, a fabric loop that fastens the sweater to a player's pants.

"He's just gotta put his tie down. That'll keep the jersey down," Tocchet said. "He obviously can't [tuck] it anymore. When the regular season starts, we can't have a penalty like that."

The league last cracked down on tucked jerseys in 2013-14, and it did not go over well with everyone. Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin called the enforcement "kind of stupid" at the time and said it restricted players' individuality.