A.J. Greer Receives Three-Game Suspension
After announcing that he’d be receiving a phone hearing last night, the Department of Player Safety has made its ruling on Panthers forward A.J. Greer. The league announced (video link) that the veteran has received a three-game suspension for his hit on Flames winger Connor Zary.
The incident occurred during Thursday’s game where Greer hit Zary from behind into the boards. On the play, he was assessed a two-minute minor for hooking, a five-minute major for interference, and a game misconduct. In its ruling, the Department of Player Safety noted that Greer was in control at all times. That ultimately puts the onus on him to deliver a legal check, something he didn’t do given the distance from the boards when he hit Zary from behind.
This is the second suspension of Greer’s career. He received a one-game ban back in 2023 for a cross-check on Montreal’s Mike Hoffman. Given that it has been more than two years since that suspension, he is not classified as a repeat offender for the purposes of determining forfeited salary. Accordingly, Greer loses three days’ pay (3/192 days) compared to three games’ pay (3/82) had he been a repeat offender. With his $850K AAV, that means he will forfeit $13,281.24 in salary; that money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Greer will miss Florida’s upcoming games on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and will be eligible to return to the lineup a week today when the Panthers travel to New York to take on the Rangers.
East Notes: Greer, Stolarz, Quick
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.
Panthers Want To Extend Sergei Bobrovsky, A.J. Greer
Leading up to the deadline, it was believed that the Florida Panthers were shopping pending unrestricted free agents Sergei Bobrovsky and A.J. Greer. Ultimately, neither player was moved, and the Panthers appear intent on keeping them in Sunrise for a while longer.
According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, Florida is focused on signing Bobrovsky to an extension. LeBrun later added that the same is true for Greer. Both should be doable since the Panthers will have roughly $15MM in cap space this summer with all of their core retained. The only hangup could be Mackie Samoskevich‘s next contract, as he will become a restricted free agent in a few months.
It’s not entirely known what Bobrovsky’s asking price is for his next contract, but it’ll certainly be lower than his current $10MM AAV. Furthermore, he’s on the wrong side of 30 and will be coming off the worst season of his professional career.
Granted, Bobrovsky has backstopped Florida to three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final and has won the last two. Still, this season, he has managed a 22-19-1 record in 43 games with a .873 SV% and 3.13 GAA. Additionally, his -0.382 Goals Saved Above Expected per 60 is the fourth-worst in the league among netminders that have played in 30 or more contests.
If the Panthers can get Bobrovsky on a two-to-three-year deal, they’ll likely be able to agree with Bobrovsky relatively quickly. Some outlets have indicated that Bobrovsky is seeking a five-year deal, which could be the reason that the two sides haven’t arranged anything sooner.
Meanwhile, unlike Bobrovsky, Greer is enjoying the best season of his career. Over the past two years with Florida, Greer has scored 17 goals and accumulated 39 points in 142 games, along with 381 hits. It’s not a groundbreaking production by any stretch, but Greer offers immense physicality and timely goal-scoring from the fourth line.
Unfortunately, his productivity likely means that the Panthers won’t be able to extend him on a similar salary. Greer is earning an $850K salary this season and is likely seeking to cash in while he can. Still, even if he is expected to sign a larger contract, his salary shouldn’t be more than $2MM.
Trade Notes: Garland, Haula, Duhaime, Greer
After yesterday’s report that the New York Islanders were in serious discussions to acquire Conor Garland from the Vancouver Canucks, no completed trade has emerged. In a subsequent update from Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News, the Islanders may be pulling away from their pursuit of Garland.
Rosner stated that the Canucks are active on multiple fronts regarding Garland, suggesting that a bidding war might be starting. Additionally, Rosner believes that Vancouver’s asking price for Garland may be too much for the Islanders to stomach.
New York still has time to reconsider Garland or seek a more affordable solution. There’s no question the team could use additional offense, especially on the powerplay. Garland has scored 82 goals and 221 points in 370 games since joining the Canucks in 2021, with 55 of those points coming on the power play.
Additional trade notes:
- For teams not interested in paying the price for Robert Thomas or Vincent Trocheck, the Nashville Predators have another center option available for trade. According to ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, Erik Haula is drawing interest from around the league. Haula, a pending unrestricted free agent, has scored nine goals and 30 points in 61 games for Nashville this season, averaging 16:38 of ice time. Additionally, Haula was impressive for Team Finland at the Olympics, scoring three goals and six points in six games, helping his country to a bronze medal.
- In a separate report from Weekes, the former netminder shared that Brandon Duhaime of the Washington Capitals and A.J. Greer of the Florida Panthers are drawing interest as potential bottom-six options. Each forward is incredibly physical and can chip in offensively when needed. Greer has had the better year between the two, scoring 11 goals and 22 points in 61 games with 159 hits.
Panthers Listening On Sergei Bobrovsky, A.J. Greer
The Panthers’ resounding 5-1 loss to the Devils last night dropped them to 14th in the Eastern Conference and 10 points out of a playoff spot, leaving their postseason chances at just 0.5%. That’s led them to broadcast to the league this morning that their pending UFAs are available for sale as rentals – most notably future Hall-of-Fame goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN. Depth forwards A.J. Greer, Tomáš Nosek, defenseman Jeff Petry, and backup netminder Daniil Tarasov are the Cats’ other soon-to-be free agents on the active roster, although LeBrun only mentioned Greer by name.
It’s a stunning but prudent reversal from the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, who have simply been too hampered by injuries this season to make a fourth straight run to the Final, even if they did manage to squeak into a wild-card spot. While Bobrovsky is one of the more decorated netminders of this era with a pair of Vezinas, Cups, and All-Star nods each, he hasn’t done much to drag his club along, either.
He’s still their clear-cut starter in terms of usage, starting 42 games compared to Tarasov’s 19, and has a superior winning percentage to his #2 option. Tarasov has better individual statistics across the board, though, and Bobrovsky has been a bottom-five starting option by most every measure. Among the 33 goalies with at least 28 games played, Bobrovsky ranks 29th in goals against average (3.13), 32nd in save percentage (.873), and 31st in goals saved above expected (-15.9, per MoneyPuck).
That’s led to a reported gap in extension talks between the Cats and the man who backstopped them to their first two championships in franchise history. If Florida were still in any sort of playoff contention, that wouldn’t matter; they’d keep him in the fold and hope to work out a deal after the season ended. But with Bobrovsky now in his age-37 season with a career-worst showing, the Panthers are likely opening themselves up to the idea of parting ways with Bobrovsky this year, one way or another. With little hope of a postseason berth, they might as well get something for him.
This is all assuming there’s a market for goaltending help at the deadline at all. The Blues are also making similarly struggling starter Jordan Binnington available, saturating an already slim list of teams that may have a want or need for either. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported this morning that “many people I talk to around the league are skeptical that Bobrovsky would be traded, even as the Panthers fall out of the playoff race,” due in part to no team making a documented, aggressive push for a goalie so far.
Perhaps Greer, more typical trade deadline fourth-line rental fodder in line with the Wild picking up Michael McCarron and the Knights landing Cole Smith from the Predators last night, is a far more likely name to be on the move. The 29-year-old is a career enforcer type but has seen an elevation in ice time this season with all of Florida’s forward injuries. He’s responded with a career year, netting 11 goals and 22 points in 61 games with a 14.1% shooting rate and 159 hits.
Considering Nashville just netted a second-round pick for McCarron, who’s posted far less impressive offensive impacts this season but does carry added value as a strong-on-draws center, the Panthers could be in line to land a similar pick for Greer. Nosek just came off LTIR to make his season debut after a lengthy recovery period from knee surgery, so he won’t be landing anything above a mid-to-late-round selection if there’s even any interest. Petry’s struggled with just eight assists and a -10 rating in 58 outings this season, but should have a few callers, simply by virtue of him being a right-shot D-man with over 1,000 games of NHL experience.
As for Tarasov, it would be surprising to see him moved. The Cats are presumably focusing on an extension with him, potentially even making him their starting option next season in the increasingly likely event Bobrovsky isn’t brought back. That’s especially amid a weak free agent class, in which Tarasov’s .903 SV% this season leads the pack among goalies with double-digit starts.
Atlantic Notes: Hutson, Jensen, Senators, Greer
With new contracts handed out in recent days to Luke Hughes and Jackson LaCombe, some attention has shifted to Canadiens blueliner Lane Hutson. While he still has one year left on his entry-level contract, the belief is that there is mutual interest in getting something done before the season begins. In a recent appearance on Daily Faceoff’s The Sheet (video link), David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period suggested that the blueliner appears to be willing to leave a bit of money on the table, similar to what several of his teammates did in an effort to give themselves a chance to continue to add down the road. However, that discount might be capped at a few hundred thousand per season on a long-term pact. With both Hughes and LaCombe checking in at $9MM, it stands to reason that Hutson could very well land close to that number on his next deal as well, whether that comes now, in-season, or next summer.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- Senators defenseman Nick Jensen told reporters including Sportsnet’s Alex Adams (Twitter link) that he will suit up in Saturday’s preseason finale against Montreal. The 35-year-old underwent offseason hip surgery and at the time, it looked unlikely that he’d be back for the start of the regular season. However, his recovery has been ahead of schedule and now he’ll get a chance to get a game in to see if he’ll be ready for opening night. Jensen played a big role for Ottawa last season, averaging over 20 minutes a game while chipping in with 21 points in 71 outings, many of which were played through injury.
- Still with the Senators, after recalling eight players back on Tuesday who had already been cut, the team announced (Twitter link) that all eight – Tyler Boucher, Hunter Shepard, Jorian Donovan, Oskar Pettersson, Xavier Bourgault, Tomas Hamara, Keean Washkurak, and Scott Harrington, have been sent back to AHL Belleville.
- The league announced that the Department of Player Safety has fined Panthers winger A.J. Greer $2,213.54, the maximum allowable in the CBA, for a roughing incident on Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel. Thursday’s affair between the two sides was particularly chippy with the two teams combining for 186 penalty minutes, a dozen of which went to Greer on the play.
A.J. Greer Set To Rejoin Panthers Lineup For Game 3
As Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final looms, the defending champion Florida Panthers are getting a boost as forward A.J. Greer is set to return to the lineup, per Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com. Greer had been sidelined with an injury he sustained in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Hurricanes.
Greer’s physicality will be something the Panthers will benefit from for the remainder of the series. In his first season with Florida, Greer led the team with 222 regular-season hits in 81 games. The 6’3″, 205-pound forward also made his presence felt in the playoffs before going down, racking up three points and dishing out 45 hits over 12 hard-fought games.
Discussing his return, Greer said, “I really hated watching from up top and not being with the guys and not being on the bench and not being able to play. But I had to make a decision that was going to be helpful to the team and helpful to what we’re trying to accomplish, and if I can’t be 100 percent, I’m not playing the right way.”
With Greer ready to rejoin the action, winger Jesper Boqvist will be the odd man out of the lineup. Greer will skate on the fourth line alongside Jonah Gadjovich and Tomas Nosek. Despite Game 1 stretching into deep overtime, Boqvist saw limited action, logging just 7:58 of ice time, which was nearly five minutes below his regular-season average over 78 games. He followed that with 8:41 in Game 2.
Greer’s return doesn’t come as a major surprise, as head coach Paul Maurice mentioned before Game 2 that the 28-year-old was trending in the right direction and had a chance to return.
“He’s on track but he won’t go tonight. But we think if he tracks out, he could be available for Game 3,” he said at the time.
A.J. Greer Out For Panthers In Game 2
As the Florida Panthers look to even the Stanley Cup Final in Game 2 against the Edmonton Oilers, they’ll have to do so without forward A.J. Greer. According to team reporter Jameson Olive, coach Paul Maurice announced today that Greer will continue to be sidelined with an injury he sustained in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Hurricanes.
In his first season with the team, Greer has made an impact despite averaging just 9:36 of ice time per game. He appeared in 81 regular-season games, posting 17 points while leading the team with 222 hits. The physical forward has added two goals and three points during the playoffs. Maurice did, however, note that Greer is trending in the right direction and could be available for Game 3 back in Florida, according to Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald.
“He’s on track but he won’t go tonight. But we think if he tracks out, he could be available for Game 3,” he said.
Maurice noted there would be no lineup changes for Game 2, meaning wingers Jesper Boqvist and Jonah Gadjovich will slot in alongside center Tomas Nosek. Despite Game 1 going deep into overtime, Boqvist logged just 7:58 of ice time, nearly five minutes below his regular-season average over 78 games. In 12 playoff games, Boqvist has posted five points to go along with 38 hits.
After briefly exiting Game 1, Gadjovich returned to the ice, and Maurice confirmed yesterday that he’ll be available going forward. Through 11 playoff games, he has recorded two goals and three points.
Luostarinen, Lundell Set To Play Game 1 For Panthers
Forwards Eetu Luostarinen and Anton Lundell missed Saturday’s practice for the Florida Panthers, but coach Paul Maurice said afterward that both are expected to play in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers, per George Richards of NHL.com. Maurice did, however, note that forward A.J. Greer‘s availability may be in question.
“I think the only question mark is Greer. We will list him as day-to-day. The other guys are fine. They’ll be back on the ice tomorrow when we do a little bit of an optional,” Maurice said.
Greer and Luostarinen were both injured in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Hurricanes. There was no explanation given for Lundell’s absence from practice, but he played a key role in closing out the Hurricanes, scoring a goal in the Panthers’ 5–3 win in Game 5, while also winning 62 percent of his faceoffs. Lundell put up a career-high 45 points in the regular season and has added five goals and 12 points during the playoffs.
In his first season with the team, Greer has made a significant impact despite averaging just 9:36 of ice time per game. He appeared in 81 regular-season games, posting 17 points while leading the team with 222 hits. The physical forward has added two goals and three points during the playoffs.
Luostarinen has elevated his game in the playoffs, recording 13 points in 18 games after tallying just 24 points in 80 regular-season games. His availability for Game 1 is a major boost for the Panthers, especially given that he ranks second on the team this postseason in hits (71) and leads all forwards with 19 blocked shots.
Panthers’ Sam Reinhart, Niko Mikkola, A.J. Greer In For Game 5
May 28: All three players are returning to the lineup tonight after the Panthers dropped Game 4 by a score of 3-0 without them, Maurice told reporters, including Michael Russo of The Athletic, this morning.
May 26: Panthers star winger Sam Reinhart, who already missed Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final because of a lower-body injury, will remain out for Game 4 tonight, head coach Paul Maurice told reporters (including Eric Engels of Sportsnet). Defenseman Niko Mikkola and winger A.J. Greer, who sustained upper-body and undisclosed injuries in Game 3, respectively, will also miss the potential conference championship-clinching game and are day-to-day, Maurice said.
Reinhart exited Game 2 in the first period due to a hit from Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho and didn’t return. Maurice said yesterday that Reinhart had neither been ruled out nor cleared for Game 4, while Greer and Mikkola weren’t expected to miss time. The latter statements jumped the gun.
Luckily for them, the Panthers have built up a 3-0 cushion in the series to limit the potential effects of their absences (and, if all goes well tonight, allow everyone time to get healthy for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final). They already won once without Reinhart, cruising to a 6-2 win in Game 3 with a third-period scoring explosion. The 29-year-old has been good but not overly dominant in this year’s playoff run, posting four goals and 11 points in 14 games after scoring 10 goals in 24 playoff games in last year’s Stanley Cup win.
But Mikkola played a massive role in that win, scoring a pair of goals, including the game-winner. After the best regular season of his career, the 6’6″ Finn has further solidified his status as a high-end second-pairing option in the playoffs, posting five points and a plus-six rating while averaging north of 19 minutes per game. With the Panthers having fewer quality depth options on the blue line outside of their usual lineup compared to their forward group, his absence will be a little more difficult for Maurice to deal with as he tries to sweep Carolina in the ECF for the second time in three years.
Jesper Boqvist, who’s been the 13th forward this postseason but still has five points in his last three appearances, will remain in the lineup in Reinhart’s stead. Maurice said that rearguard Uvis Balinskis will replace Mikkola in the lineup while depth center Nico Sturm enters the lineup for the fourth-liner Greer.