‘He’s a keeper for us’: A.J. Greer impressing in first season with Florida Panthers

Before he even took the ice for his first game with the Florida Panthers, forward A.J. Greer laid out his expectations for what he would provide to his new team.

“A lot of passion, a lot of grit and a lot of hard work. I’m someone who is never going to give up, and you’re always going to notice out on the ice,” Greer told the Miami Herald during training camp. “Very energetic. Very loyal. I think that’s one of the biggest things is I’m very loyal to my teammates, and no one’s going to take liberties and take any cheap shots towards my teammates. But also, again, just a power forward who tries to do everything right, doesn’t get scored on, and can contribute a little bit offensively once the time is right. Ultimately, I’m just a reliable three-zone player that’s going to stand up for teammates, play physical and bring a lot of energy.”

Three months into his Panthers tenure, and it’s safe to say that Greer has lived up to his billing.

Greer, who signed a two-year deal with Florida this offseason, has seamlessly fit into Florida’s gritty, forecheck-heavy, physical style of play while providing an energy boost nearly every time he takes a shift.

“He’s a keeper for us,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.

Greer leads the team with 99 hits and isn’t afraid to drop the gloves — he already has a team-high three fights.

But he also is showing a knack for being productive around the net. Despite only averaging about 10 minutes of ice time per game on the fourth line, Greer already has nine points (four goals and five assists) in 36 games. That’s two goals and three points shy of matching his single-season career highs with more than half the season left to play.

He also has tallied 44 total scoring chances and 21 high-danger chances at five-on-five — both tied with Anton Lundell for sixth most on Panthers.

Maurice is even giving him time as part of a third forward rotation on the penalty kill to make sure Florida has depth there beyond its usual forward combinations of Aleksander Barkov with Sam Reinhart and Lundell with Eetu Luostarinen.

“He’s willing to push himself, and he’s just dying to get better,” Maurice said. “He’s working on his hands. He works on all parts of his game, but the base of his game is playoff hockey in my mind. You’ll see it when it comes out. He’s going to play like that all year long, so when the puck drops in the playoffs, he’s going to be able to play that game for a long time, very hard.”

Panthers at the break

With NHL is on its Christmas Break until Friday, here’s a look at where the Panthers stand in various individual player and team categories:

▪ Points percentage: .639 (seventh in NHL, third in Eastern Conference, first in Atlantic Division)

▪ Goals per game: 3.44 (sixth in NHL)

▪ Goals against per game: 3.11 (T-20th in NHL)

▪ Power play: 26.3 percent (fourth in NHL)

▪ Penalty kill: 80.8 percent (12th in NHL)

▪ Individual goals scored: Reinhart, 22 (T-fourth in NHL)

▪ Individual assists: Reinhart and Barkov, 23 (T-29th in NHL)

▪ Individual points: Reinhart, 45 (T-ninth in NHL)

▪ Individual power-play goals: Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk, 7 (T-sixth in NHL)

▪ Individual shorthanded goals: Reinhart, 4 (first in NHL)

▪ Plus-minus: Gustav Forsling, plus-18 (T-sixth in NHL)