AJ Greer inks one-year extension with Avalanche

On Thursday morning, the Colorado Avalanche wrapped up their second-to-last RFA signing of the summer, inking depth forward AJ Greer to a one-year, two-way extension to get him through the 2019-20 NHL season.

The deal will pay out $735K at the NHL level and just $90K at the AHL level, giving the team a bit of financial flexibility until he’s proven that he’s capable of producing at the highest level on a consistent basis.

Drafted 39th overall by the Avalanche in 2015, Greer played for a season and a half with Boston University before finishing out his post-draft year with the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and then going pro.

Since then, he’s become one of Colorado’s most prolific scorers at the AHL level, racking up an impressive 19 goals and 44 points in just 54 games for the Eagles last year. His game hasn’t managed to translate as well to the NHL level yet, though, and he currently boasts just one goal and six career points in 37 collective NHL games so far. He’s fallen into a fourth line checking role when he skates in Denver, which has left his offensive potential with plenty of unmet expectations.

His summer has gone less than perfectly, with an assault charge resulting from a physical altercation getting publicized earlier this July that the team has yet to fully address. It likely won’t impact his standing with the club, but certainly doesn’t help for a prospect hoping to make a positive impact in the coming year.

The Colorado Avalanche have yet to address the elephant in the room in the form of their final RFA contract left to sign, but it’s unlikely that the deal for Finnish forward Mikko Rantanen is going to be completed any time soon. So for now, this wraps up the rest of their off-season to-do list — and gets the team one step closer to being ready for training camp.