NHL Fines Zegras: Benning Upset After ‘Cheap Shot’

When they talk about Trevor Zegras being the future of the game, this probably isn’t what they meant.

The NHL 23 cover star took direct aim at the future on Tuesday night – at the future of Matt Benning’s bloodline.

The 21-year-old, who was matched up regularly against Benning, got called for slashing the veteran’s nether regions midway through the second period, but he probably deserved more than two minutes in the box.

Suffice to say, the San Jose Sharks defenseman, already unhappy with the 6-5 shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks, was not pleased with the wunderkind’s temerity.

“He’s miked up out there. Yapping a little bit,” Benning said of Zegras. “If he wants to play tough, I can play tough too. He went for a cheap shot. It is what it is.”

San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn didn’t offer any opinion about the play after the contest: “I still really haven’t seen it, so I can’t really comment on that.”

Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras has been fined $1,500, for Slashing San Jose’s Matt Benning.

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) November 2, 2022

It is what it is – until the San Jose Sharks square off with the Ducks once again this Saturday night at SAP Center. This quick a turnaround, there’s no doubt that the memory of Zegras’s offense will be fresh on Benning and the rest of the Sharks’ minds.