Watching This Hit From A Florida Panthers Player Will Give You A Headache
A. J. Greer went way too far with his hit on Connor Zary.
The Florida Panthers are fantastic at two things: winning Stanley Cups, and doing their best to seriously injure as many players as possible.
On Friday night, the two-time defending champions traveled to Calgary to take on the Flames. The Panthers battled back to get within a goal and looked like they had a chance to steal a win, and then forward A. J. Greer decided to act like a knucklehead.
After hooking Connor Zary, Greer made the situation 100 times worse by deciding to hit Zary in the head and send his dome straight into the boards. It’s the kind of hit that will make you audibly react in pain after seeing it.
Greer got assessed two for hooking, a major for interference, and a game misconduct.
"Terrible hit," said Flames head coach Ryan Huska following the game. "It was awful. So I don’t really have much else to say about that. But it just shouldn’t happen when someone’s in that position."
(Huska added Zary is moving around fine).
CALGARY, AB - Calgary Flames center Connor Zary (47) is tended to by a trainer after a hit into the boards by Florida Panthers left wing A.J. Greer (10), not shown, during the third period of an NHL game on March 20, 2026, at the Scotiabank Saddledome. (Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Sometimes with Panthers players, they will land what seems like a dirty hit but really isn’t. Nuances like the trajectory of the players, suspected intent, or just dumb luck will make a play seem unnecessary, when in reality it was just an unfortunate collision.
This, however, was not one of those times.
Zary had one thing on his mind: go to the corner and get the puck. Greer also had one thing on his mind: hit Zary in the back of his head as hard as he could. He had enough time to reconsider his actions, but chose to do the wrong thing. Furthermore, Zary never changed his trajectory, so Greer can’t use that as an excuse.
The league’s Department of Player Safety will once again have a nasty situation to work through. But if it has any nerve whatsoever, this will result in a suspension for Greer.
Anything less is a bad look for the NHL.