{"id":518252,"date":"2026-03-23T10:25:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T10:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/518252\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T10:25:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T10:25:29","slug":"nhls-announcement-of-a-j-greers-suspension-causes-a-stir-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/518252\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL’s Announcement of A.J. Greer’s Suspension Causes a Stir"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NHL<\/a>\u2019s latest disciplinary decision has prompted debate across the hockey world, with Florida Panthers<\/a>‘ A.J. Greer handed a three-game suspension for boarding Connor Zary.<\/p>\n

The ruling followed a phone hearing on Sunday<\/a>, after the incident occurred during Friday\u2019s 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames<\/a>. Greer\u2019s actions in the third period drew immediate attention, and the league moved quickly to review the play.<\/p>\n

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The Department of Player Safety explained the sequence in detail. Zary attempted to move toward the goal but was hooked by Greer before chasing a loose puck. As both players closed in, Greer delivered a two-handed shove to Zary\u2019s upper back. The force sent Zary dangerously into the boards, leading officials to classify the play as boarding.<\/p>\n

“This is boarding,” DoPS said in their explainer video<\/a>. “It is important to note that Greer is in control of this play at all times\u2026Greer has been suspended once and fined once during his 316-game NHL career. The DOPS has suspended Aj Greer for three games.”<\/p>\n

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The decision has drawn sharp reactions from fans, especially after recent criticism of league discipline. Tensions are high in light of the ruling on Radko Gudas\u2019 five-game suspension for a hit that injured Auston Matthews<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, Fans voiced frustration online, questioning the consistency of the league\u2019s decisions. Some argued that player safety does not appear to be the top concern.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m not sure what this committee is doing, but I don\u2019t think player safety should be in the name. After this ruling, I\u2019m not sure player safety is your concern.” A fan said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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“Malkin was suspended for FIVE GAMES, and it wasn\u2019t nearly as bad as what Greer did,” Another fan wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“And y’all know it’s wrong. Department of Panther Safety with another one,” A fan reacted<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“So if he broke his neck, five games? Asking for a friend \u2026” A fan mocked<\/a> DoPS.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m a Leafs fan and I\u2019d rather Matthews take the hit from Gudas 10\/10 times then see anyone get the hit A.J Greer laid.” One fan mentioned<\/a> the Matthews incident.<\/p>\n

“Embarassing. How does 3 games deter Greer from ever making a hit like that again? NHL Player Safety is a joke.” A fan wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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“Fire George Parros, this is a joke,” One user said<\/a>, referring to the head of DoPS.<\/p>\n

\"Florida<\/p>\n

Florida Panthers forward A.J. Greer (10) handles the puck at Rogers Arena.Bob Frid-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

(Bob Frid-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

During the game, Greer received a major penalty and game misconduct. This marks the second suspension of his NHL career, adding to a prior fine on his record. He will miss three games and can return next Sunday against the NY Rangers<\/a>. Financially, Greer will forfeit over $13,000, which goes to the Players\u2019 Emergency Assistance Fund.<\/p>\n

As debate continues, the NHL once again finds itself under pressure to defend its disciplinary standards.<\/p>\n

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Related: NHL Player Safety Faces Backlash After Phone Hearing for A.J. Greer<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Mar 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the NHL<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NHL\u2019s latest disciplinary decision has prompted debate across the hockey world, with Florida Panthers‘ A.J. Greer handed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[261,9539,532,26,5669,57,30846,5,2592,4,12812,2180,9464],"class_list":{"0":"post-518252","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-a-j-greer","9":"tag-aj-greer","10":"tag-auston-matthews","11":"tag-calgary-flames","12":"tag-connor-zary","13":"tag-florida-panthers","14":"tag-george-parros","15":"tag-hockey","16":"tag-malkin","17":"tag-nhl","18":"tag-ny-rangers","19":"tag-player-safety","20":"tag-radko-gudas"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116278010588990063","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}