A disciplinary decision is now imminent for A.J. Greer—but it won’t reach the most severe threshold. The NHL Department of Player Safety has scheduled a phone hearing with Greer following Friday night’s incident between the Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome. That detail matters—because under league rules, a phone hearing caps any potential suspension at five games or fewer. Greer was ejected after delivering a dangerous hit on Flames winger Connor Zary, a play that immediately escalated into one of the more scrutinized incidents of the night. With Zary in a vulnerable position and facing the boards, Greer drove through the hit, sending him head-first into the glass. Officials assessed a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct on the spot, while the reaction—both in-arena and online—was swift and overwhelmingly critical. “Terrible hit, it was awful,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “I don’t really have much more to say about that, it just shouldn’t happen when someone is in that position, ever.” The league’s review will now focus on key factors: Zary’s vulnerability, the force and angle of contact, and whether Greer made sufficient effort—or any—to avoid or minimize the hit. While the outcome won’t extend beyond five games due to the hearing format, supplemental discipline still feels all but certain given the nature of the play. Greer does carry a prior mark on his record. He was suspended one game for cross-checking in March 2023 while with the Boston Bruins, a detail that could weigh into the league’s final decision. After a stint with Calgary, he later joined Florida, where he now finds himself back under the microscope. As for Zary, the immediate concern shifted from discipline to health. Though he managed to leave the ice under his own power, he did not return to the game. “I don’t have an update,” Huska said post-game. “He’s moving around, he’s fine and all that stuff, but I don’t really have a real indication of what it is yet.” Now, it’s just a matter of how many games Greer will miss—not whether he’ll miss any at all. Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/c56b9a47-3bc3-428a-9608-fc17c715ba25.jpeg]
