Avalanche Season Grades: A.J. Greer

A.J. Greer appeared in a career-high 17 games for the Colorado Avalanche this year.

Overview

Greer came into his second season of pro hockey looking to make the Avalanche roster and carve out a consistent role on a roster full of young players. The abundance of youth meant opportunity for so many of the players but Greer never really seemed to find a consistent rhythm and the coaching staff very obviously never developed a legitimate trust with the feisty Greer on the ice.

There was plenty of talk about Greer focusing too much on being a tough customer on the ice and forgetting he has plenty of skill to bring to the table. Given he only had penalties in six of his 17 games played, maybe that talking point was overblown a bit (it certainly was by me) but his weak showing across the board was undoubtedly disappointing.

He’s a player the Avalanche could absolutely make use of because of his combination of on-ice obnoxiousness and skill. The Avalanche don’t have very many players with that kind of sandpaper in their game or the agitator’s mentality and Greer lives to inflict misery upon his opponents. He’s an extremely competitive young man with the drive to succeed and it was unfortunate this ended up being a bit of a lost year for him overall.

Biggest Moment

There weren’t many to pick from on this list with just 17 games played and only one game in which he played more than 10 minutes in a single game. That severely limited his opportunities to do something particularly memorable but there are two moments I distinctly remember. One came in the press box during the team’s early-season tilt against the Carolina Hurricanes. I was sitting next to their scratches that night and they couldn’t stop talking about what an agitating annoyance (they used significantly more colorful language) Greer was that night.

The other was his first assist of the season on that same night. It was also Patrik Nemeth’s first career goal. It showcased what you can reasonably expect to get from Greer’s game: hard work down low combined with some skill. He did a good job finding Nemeth, who really made it happen with a great shot that put Colorado in the lead.

What’s Next

Greer enters the final year of his entry-level contract with uncertainty surrounding him. As the Avalanche found some solutions on their roster last year, the abundant opportunities found early in the year began to dry up. Next season is a blank slate for him to start over and give making the opening night roster and sticking another go. He needs to figure out who he is in the NHL and the organization hasn’t done him any favors by asking him to be one player in the AHL (top six scoring type) and another in the NHL (bottom six grinder). One does not adequately prepare a player for the other, especially at the highest level in the NHL. There still needs to be some soul-searching and he needs to figure out who he is before the team finds permanent solutions that don’t include him.

Final Grade

D+.

It’s a harsh grade to give a player who I think the organization held back with their indecision but the bottom line was Greer simply was not good enough in the NHL this year. He played limited minutes, yes, but his play in that time wasn’t enough to earn more from the coaching staff. He needs to do more with the opportunities he’s given, even if they aren’t as significant as he would maybe prefer.

Greer could probably afford one false start of a season but if we fast forward to May of 2019 and we’re having the same conversation, it might be time to really wonder if Greer is cut out for the NHL at all. For now, though, he has the summer to reset and come back with his trademark intensity and make his mark in training camp. This is not a kid I’m in a hurry to count out.