A.J. Greer has exactly what the Blackhawks are missing

Michael McCarron re-signed with the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday. The rugged center reupped with a six-year, $19.8 million contract. He was acquired at the trade deadline from the Nashville Predators for a second-round pick and instantly fit in with the Wild. I’m not sure that signing a 31-year-old bottom-six forward to a six-year deal with a full no-movement clause is the wisest move, but general manager Bill Geurin needed to do something to keep McCarron from hitting the open market.

The Chicago Blackhawks are in need of a player like McCarron, so it’s disappointing that they won’t get a crack at him. His physicality and willingness to mix it up are exactly what they are missing in their lineup. If the Blackhawks want to be serious about making a playoff push, they need to be harder to play against, and McCarron would have helped in that department.

Late in the season, Frank Seravalli said the Blackhawks were looking for more “whisky drinkers” than “milk drinkers,” and McCarron was not the biggest “whisky drinker” potentially available. That distinction goes to A.J. Greer of the Florida Panthers.

Greer Has What the Blackhawks are Missing

Greer was expected to be moved before the trade deadline in March after the Panthers’ season was lost to a myriad of injuries. He was even scratched from the game before the deadline, but ultimately wasn’t moved. Elliotte Friedman recently reported that he’s heard from executives around the league that Greer will hit the free agent market on July 1.

The 29-year-old left wing took full advantage of the Panthers’ injury problems by having a career season. In 78 games, he scored 17 goals and 32 points. It was the first time he scored double-digit goals and had over 20 points in his four full NHL seasons. He also set career-highs in shots on goal, shot attempts, and shooting percentage. So, of course, he’s going to want to cash in on a weak free agent market and get a much bigger contract than he could have thought possible a year ago.

But it’s not his jump in offense that makes him appealing to the Blackhawks; it’s his style of play. He dished out 425 hits over the last two seasons. His 203 hits last season would have been the most on the Blackhawks, by far. Colton Dach led the team with 189, and he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in early March. Of all the players that were here for the full season, Louis Crevier led the team with 124 hits. Nobody else had over 100.

Greer loves to score goals around the net, hunting for rebounds and outworking defenders. This is an element the Blackhawks desperately need on their roster.

He’s not afraid to mix it up and drop the gloves when the situation calls for it. Greer picked up seven majors last season with plays like this.

However, like most players who toe the line between dirty and clean, Greer will get himself in trouble when he crosses that line. He’s been suspended twice in his career, including for three games last season for his hit on Connor Zary of the Calgary Flames.

No disrespect to Connor Murphy or Nick Foligno, but if someone is taking liberties with Connor Bedard on a given night, I’d much rather have Greer on the ice to respond and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

An Overpay is Ok

Greer made $850,000 for each of the last two seasons with the Panthers, so he is due for a big raise. He will probably look for something close to what McCarron got with the Wild. He’s two years younger with better offensive production, so I could see him fetching $3.5-4 million per season.

I wouldn’t give him a six-year contract, but I’d be willing to go up to four years. The fact that he showed that he can play up in the lineup and produce when needed only adds to his value. With such a weak free agency class, I can see a bidding war for Greer’s services, so you’ll likely have to overpay, but he would be worth it because he instantly makes the Blackhawks harder to play against. Add in his Stanley Cup experience, and he becomes a valuable addition to this team looking to take the next step.

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