Panthers’ A.J. Greer fined for roughing Lightning’s Brandon Hagel

The National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety fined Florida Panthers’ forward A.J. Greer $2,213.54 for roughing Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel during their preseason game Thursday night.

The fine was the maximum allowable under the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The incident occurred midway through the first period when Greer hit Hagel with several jabs and appeared to make contact with the face with his stick. Greer was handed a cross-checking minor, a roughing minor and a 10-minute misconduct on the play. He finished the game with 29 total penalty minutes.

A total of 186 penalty minutes was recorded between the two teams, including 21 from Panthers’ defenseman Aaron Ekblad, 19 from Panthers’ forward Jonah Gadjovich, 16 from Lightning forward Jack Finley and 14 from Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli.

Greer, 28, scored six goals and recorded 11 assists for 17 points and 130 penalty minutes in 81 regular-season games with the Panthers in 2024-25. He also appeared in 16 playoff games, scoring twice and adding an assist for three points and 22 penalty minutes, helping the Panthers win the Stanley Cup.

In eight NHL seasons, Greer has 19 goals, 30 assists and 49 points in 248 career regular-season games with the Panthers, Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche.

A native of Joliette, Que., Greer was taken by the Avalanche in the second round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. In six AHL seasons, he scored 85 goals and adding 110 assists for 195 points and 380 penalty minutes in 278 career regular-season games.