The Montreal Canadiens could certainly benefit from adding some physicality this offseason, and there may not be a better free agent to achieve that than A.J. Greer. The Florida Panthers forward has had 425 hits over his past two seasons, but found a scoring touch with 17 goals, which was only one fewer than the 248 NHL career games he played in over eight seasons.
However, The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun threw some cold water on the idea that the Canadiens could pursue Greer this summer. He acknowledges that his size would be a 'welcome addition', but the Canadiens have several players on the roster that they would need to move to find a spot for him. For that reason, he doesn't see Montreal as the 'likeliest fit'.
Montreal Canadiens do need to move some players but would be worth it to add A.J. Greer
LeBrun is correct that the Canadiens would need to move some players, but it is hard to deny what Greer could bring to the team, and creating a roster spot would be worth it. For the Canadiens, it starts with trading Brendan Gallagher or buying him out. It feels like that is only a matter of time before that move takes place.
After that, it becomes a little trickier, and the Canadiens would probably need to trade Kirby Dach or not extend a qualifying offer. However, if they go that route, they would lose him as an unrestricted free agent with nothing in return.
Those two moves probably do enough to create space, and the Canadiens have enough cap space to sign Greer. AFP Analytics projects Greer's next contract would be a three-year deal with an AAV of $2.79 million.
By moving Gallagher, the Canadiens could still sign Greer to that contract while adding almost $4 million in cap space.
While LeBrun is correct that the Canadiens probably don't have a spot for him on the roster, the physicality he brings, and if the scoring continues, Greer would be an excellent addition for the fourth line and strengthen that part of their roster.
Add us as a preferred source on Google