On the ice, A.J. Greer is known to lay the hits. He is one of the Florida Panthers’ most punishing forwards, a role he has become accustomed to as a fourth-line winger whose job involves a lot of physicality and tone-setting.
Off the ice, though, Greer is known to play the hits.
Greer’s passion away from hockey is music. He DJ’d for a few years early in his hockey career before learning the ins and outs of music production, after which he began making his own music.
He blends his profession and his passion inside the dressing room of the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Panthers. He filled the void of team DJ that was left after defenseman Brandon Montour left for the Seattle Kraken. Greer curates the team’s pregame playlist with input from his teammates and essentially sets the vibes before they hit the ice.
“It’s something I take pride in,” Greer said, “and I just want the guys to enjoy the music and get ready for the game and settle in. It’s a cool little thing that I like and puts me in the right position mentally as well.”
Greer, who signed a two-year deal with the Panthers ahead of the 2024-25 season, said it took about two weeks to get a sense of what his teammates prefer to listen to going into a game. From there, he got to work assembling a set that pleased the crowd.
Greer said there’s a lot of electronic dance music, rap and rock in the mix.
“I definitely like some high-energy, high-paced music to be able to get myself in the mood once I step on the ice,” Greer said. “It kind of gets you into the vibe.”
Greer mirrors that high energy and high pace when the puck drops.
He led the Panthers with 222 hits in the regular season and added another 53 during 16 Stanley Cup playoff games while also putting up 17 points in the regular season and three in the postseason. It was his line, with Greer at left wing, Tomas Nosek at center and Jonah Gadjovich at right wing, that Panthers coach Paul Maurice credited as being the spark they needed midway through their run to a second consecutive Stanley Cup. It’s why Maurice had that line take the final shift of the Cup-clinching win in Game 6 against the Edmonton Oilers. It was a moment of appreciation for a group that does so much dirty work and whose contributions can go unnoticed.
Playing on that stage — last season was Greer’s first time appearing in the Stanley Cup playoffs, let alone participating in the Cup Final and winning — was a “dream come true,” he said.
“It’ll be tough to top that,” Greer said. “I’ll always cherish the memories and everything that happened last year.”
Now, it’s time for an encore as Florida attempts the rare feat of winning three consecutive championships, something that hasn’t been done since the New York Islanders won four in a row from 1980-1983.
Florida’s fourth line will look a little different to start the season, though. Nosek is out multiple months after undergoing surgery to repair a lower-body injury, so newly signed Luke Kunin is slated to center Greer and Gadjovich. Kunin plays similarly to his wingers, with an emphasis on physicality but with enough skill to make the occasional play on offense.
“That’s exactly what we need,” Greer said. “Nosek’s presence is a tough one to fill, but [Kunin has] been able to to come in for him and just look at our game and be able to kind of bring a little bit new energy to the group.”
And when the season starts Oct. 7, Greer will have the hits — both on and off the ice.