One of the most common questions we’ve received from fans of the Calgary Flames in recent weeks is “Hey, when is Connor Zary expected back?”
After Zary suffered a knee injury early this month, the initial fears were that his season could be over – as transpired for teammates Anthony Mantha and Justin Kirkland with their knee injuries that required surgery. While Zary avoided the worst and didn’t require surgery, we haven’t had many updates on his recovery.
Head coach Ryan Huska was asked about how Zary’s doing on Thursday morning (via Flames TV):
“Good, actually really well. We’re hopeful that he’ll be on the ice in a very limited way here over the next week or so. I mean, he’s still got a ways to go, don’t get me wrong, but he’s doing really well with his rehab, so we’re pretty excited about that.”
Answering a follow-up question, Huska indicated there’s no timeline for Zary’s return. (The general trend when a player has a major injury is to begin skating on their own for a bit, and then they return to practice in a non-contact jersey for a bit, and then they return to full contact in practice before they get fully cleared for game action. How quickly a player progresses through those stages depends on the nature of their individual injury.)
Zary was originally injured on Jan. 7 against the Anaheim Ducks when he collided knee-on-knee with Ducks defenceman Drew Helleson. Helleson received a major and game misconduct for kneeing on the play. Zary was announced by the club as being out “indefinitely” a few days after his injury.
The Flames’ first round pick in 2020, Zary has emerged as a versatile, exciting player for the club since going pro in 2021. He can play both centre or the wing, and he’s shown the ability to use his smarts, hands and skating to create a ton of opportunities for his teammates on the ice. Before his injury, Zary was arguably the centrepiece of one of the Flames’ two power play units, using his deft play-making to distribute the puck on the man advantage. Through 40 games this season, Zary has 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points.
The Flames have six games remaining before the NHL’s break for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. Based on Huska’s comments and the upcoming schedule, it’s probably reasonable to anticipate Zary to return sometime after the 4 Nations break. (As far as how soon after the break we’ll see him in action, that’s something the Flames will likely provide further information on in the coming weeks.)
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