The NHL Department of Player Safety is once again under intense scrutiny, this time following its ruling on A.J. Greer’s dangerous hit on Connor Zary.
What started as an in-game incident has quickly become a league-wide debate over consistency, accountability, and whether the NHL is doing enough to protect its players.
Why the NHL DoPS Is Under Fire Following A.J. Greer’s Suspension
The hit occurred during the third period of a matchup between the Florida Panthers and the Calgary Flames on Friday. Greer shoved Zary head-first into the boards in a play many viewed as both dangerous and avoidable.
Zary stayed down briefly but managed to leave the ice under his own power. On the play, Greer was assessed a minor penalty, a major, and a game misconduct, leading to his immediate ejection.
But it was the league’s follow-up decision that truly ignited outrage.
After a phone hearing, the DoPS handed down a three-game suspension to Greer. The key detail? It was not an in-person hearing, which automatically capped the maximum suspension at five games. That alone raised questions about how seriously the league viewed the incident.
The controversy has renewed focus on Connor McDavid’s earlier criticism of the league’s discipline process, made after Radko Gudas received a five-game ban for a knee-on-knee hit that ended Auston Matthews’ season. “If every time there is a suspension everybody complains about it, why don’t we take a look at the process… It seems like there’s a lot of frustration,” McDavid said at the time.
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Critics noted Greer’s disciplinary history as a factor that should have led to a harsher penalty. Earlier this season, he was fined for roughing Brandon Hagel, and in 2023, he served a suspension for a cross-check on Mike Hoffman.
Given that track record, many expected the league to come down harder.
Instead, the relatively short suspension and the absence of an in-person hearing have only added fuel to the fire.
NHL analyst Jack Jablonski didn’t hold back, calling the hit a “wreckless decision & illegal hit” and arguing that “Hockey is an extremely fast & physical sport, and sometimes dangerous things happen because of that. This was not that. Greer had time & made a decision to put another player in danger.”
Sportswriter Ryan O’Hara went even further, questioning the league’s leadership and suggesting the punishment failed to match the severity of the play. “George Parros should step down. Gudas’ hit was bad, but A.J. Greer’s was way more blatant. How do you give him fewer games or just a phone hearing? Ridiculous,” O’Hara said.
Meanwhile, SDPN host Steve Dangle described the situation as one that should carry major consequences. “This should have come with a resignation. Not sure where you go from here,” Dangle said.
Analyst Drew Livingstone said, “3 games for probably the worst hit of the season when the player has suspension history is absolutely wild stuff.”
Even George Parros, head of the DoPS, has stood by the current system, maintaining confidence in how decisions are made. But the growing backlash suggests that confidence isn’t shared across the hockey community.
There’s also a broader concern about context. With the Panthers likely out of playoff contention, some argue there’s less of a deterrent to risky plays, making discipline even more important.
For now, the league appears set in its decision. But the reaction has made one thing clear: the conversation around player safety and how it’s enforced is far from over.
