In a somewhat surprising development, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced it would have a phone hearing for Florida Panthers forward A.J. Greer for his hit against Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary.
Ultimately, it means that Greer won’t be given a suspension any longer than five games. On the play in question, Greer was assessed a two-minute minor for hooking, a five-minute major for interference, and a 10-minute game misconduct. Essentially, Greer hit Zary from behind into the boards, well before there was any expectation of incidental contact.
At the very least, it suggests that the NHL DoPS isn’t feeling any outside pressure to change the way they assess supplementary discipline. After Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas was suspended for five games for delivering a knee-to-knee hit on Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, who suffered a season-ending injury due to the incident, there was an outcry from fans and media for the DoPS to impose stricter discipline to prevent such situations in the future.
Other Eastern Conference notes:
- Netminder Anthony Stolarz did not make his scheduled start tonight because of an injury suffered in warm-ups. Before the game, the Maple Leafs announced that Stolarz was struck in the neck by a puck during warm-ups and was subsequently taken to a local hospital for further testing. Toronto has not provided any additional updates regarding Stolarz since.
- There is additional context regarding the New York Rangers’ recall of netminder Dylan Garand yesterday. According to Andrew Crane of the New York Post, veteran netminder Jonathan Quick is dealing with a minor upper-body ailment. Regardless, the expectation is that Garand will make his NHL debut while Quick is sidelined.