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A.J. Greer signs, but he may be down to his last chance with Avs

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NEWS: A.J. Greer and the Avs agree to a one-year, two-way contract today. Cap Friendly says the deal is a two-way, with $735,000 at the NHL level, $90,000 at the AHL level.

VIEWS: I think it’s a good thing the Avs didn’t just give up on this kid yet. We still don’t know what will happen with his legal situation – he and Columbus’ Sonny Milano were charged with assaulting a 28-year-old man in New York City last month, a court appearance is slated for Sept. 4 – but I’d bet my last dollar this will somehow be magically taken care of by the lawyers and Greer will go on with his playing career by training camp.

I think the fact that both Columbus and Colorado have since signed their respective restricted free agents to contracts is a pretty big tell on that. If they knew this thing was headed for real trouble, they wouldn’t have signed them both.

This is obviously going to be a very big year in the career of A.J. Greer. He’s played 37 games for the Avs in his NHL career, with one goal and five assists. It’s unfair to rip on those scoring stats probably, because he rarely ever played more than a handful of minutes in any of those games.

He posted 19 goals and 44 points in 54 games with the Colorado Eagles last season – a career-high in points thus far to his pro career. That is obviously very good production, and Greer was/is a fan favorite in Loveland for his brash playing style and overall demeanor.

He enters this coming season as likely ticketed for Loveland, with the hope of either being promoted on merit at some point. You never know, maybe he’ll shock the world in camp and make the roster outright.

The bottom line: Greer has a lot of “prove-it-us” still to do with the Avs, and the assault charge is a stain that may or may not contribute to that being an even bigger hurdle to overcome. He’s got another chance, it would seem, but he may be down to his last one with this organization.

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