The 2023-24 NHL season has commenced, and Calgary Flames fans are undoubtedly excited to put last season behind them. The team started off on a positive note, winning their season debut and home opener against the Winnipeg Jets by a final score of 5-3. A few days prior and shortly after the end of the preseason, the organization announced that they had claimed 6-foot-3, 209-pound forward A.J. Greer off of waivers via the Boston Bruins. In what would largely be considered a depth move, the Flames felt that they could use an NHL player to fill out their bottom six and decided to take a chance on the aggressive Greer.
The decision makes sense, especially when considering the departures of gritty forwards Milan Lucic, Trevor Lewis, Nick and Brett Ritchie. All were players who focused less on offence and more on checking and/or coming to the aid of teammates. Of course, the team has plenty of tenacity featured on the back end, with defensemen such as Dennis Gilbert and Nikita Zadorov ready to throw a big hit or drop the mitts at a moment’s notice. Adding Greer gives the squad another defense mechanism up front, amongst other things. Let’s have a look at what Greer can add to the Flames’ roster for 2023-24.
Positive Past Statistics
Joliette, Quebec, native Greer was originally a Colorado Avalanche product, having been drafted by them in the second round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He went on to play the next four seasons in the Avalanche organization, appearing in a total of 37 NHL contests and accumulating one goal and five assists during that time. The next chapter of his career began when he was traded to the New York Islanders at the beginning of the 2020-21 season. He played a bit for their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate but found himself traded again, this time to the New Jersey Devils as part of a package for Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac. It was with the Devils organization where Greer began to hit his stride. In his two seasons there, he had a combined 27 goals and 67 points in 78 games, split between the AHL and the NHL. He also fought six times and had a total of 104 penalty minutes (PIM).
This earned him the two-year, $1.525 million contract he signed with the Boston Bruins upon becoming an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. His strong play kept him in their lineup for the entirety of 2022-23, and he would reward the Bruins by setting career-highs across the board. Greer settled into a fourth-line energy role, where he got into seven scraps as well as scored five goals and 12 points in 61 appearances. Only five NHLers had more than his 114 PIM, and all of them played 14 or more games than Greer. He added 101 hits, 25 blocked shots, and 17 takeaways all while averaging just 9:07 per game. To contrast, there wasn’t one Flame last season that matched Greer’s seven fights and no one eclipsed 80 PIM.
Team Contributions Thus Far
Greer has dressed in both the Flames’ season opener and the second regular-season game, a 5-2 loss at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has gone scoreless in the two games, but has put four shots on net, three hits, one blocked shot and registered a plus-1 rating so far. New Flames head coach Ryan Huska deployed Greer for 6:52 against the Jets and 11:55 against the Penguins for an average of 9:24 per game. He has primarily been utilized on the fourth line with Walker Duehr opposite him on the right side. In the home opener, Greer and Duehr’s centreman was Adam Ruzicka, and their line performed admirably as it was on the ice for a MacKenzie Weegar goal.
Ruzicka moved up in the next matchup and was replaced by Yegor Sharangovich. Their line created all sorts of issues for the Penguins, as the three men are all 6-foot-2 or taller and have an average weight of 205 pounds. This culminated in six shots on net between the trio, with Greer accounting for three. The three using their size to gain possession of and protect the puck while creating scoring opportunities is a very good sign. For those who enjoy analytics, Greer’s Corsi For percentage through two games sits at a whopping 60.6 percent. This means that the Flames control the puck and out chance their opponents while he is on the ice. This figure is fourth on the team, bested only by Duehr and first-liners Andrew Mangiapane and Elias Lindholm.
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In conclusion, the Flames’ decision to pluck Greer off of waivers is paying off so far. His addition has softened the blow of losing so many aforementioned grit players, and he is even demonstrating positive offensive characteristics. While a player of his ilk will most likely not set the league on fire nor lead his team in points, categories like hits, blocks, and fights are all still important parts of today’s game. If Greer can continue to dominate puck possession and generate shots it is only a matter of time before he ripples the twine. Just as well, look for Greer to get on the board with his first “tilly” in a Flames uniform soon.
