Boston Bruins Sign Four Players

The Boston Bruins have added some organizational depth, signing A.J. Greer to a two-year contract, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The deal will pay him $750K in 2022-23 and $775K in 2023-24, the league minimum in both years. The Athletic’s Michael Russo also reports the team’s agreed to terms on a “lucrative” two-way contract with Vinni Lettieri, one of the better skill forwards in the minors. The team also announced the signings of defenseman Connor Carrick and goalie Keith Kinkaid to one-year, two-way contracts worth $750K.

This deal should help the Providence Bruins more than the Boston Bruins, in all likelihood. Greer, 25, is an accomplished AHL scorer who has had very limited success at the NHL level. This past season, Greer scored 22 goals and 52 points in 53 games on the Utica Comets, good for third on the team. Greer is a big forward, standing at six-foot-three, 210 pounds, and uses that big frame to create space at the AHL level. At the NHL level, Greer has only played in limited-minutes, depth roles and as a result, doesn’t have a similar level of production there as he does at the AHL level.

The Bruins value their AHL affiliate and this signing is proof of that. Greer will have a chance to make Jim Montgomery’s Bruins squad but will in all likelihood be sent to the AHL and be one of the AHL Bruins’ most important players.

Lettieri split the 2021-22 season between the NHL and AHL with the Anaheim Ducks. He finished the year with five goals and 10 points in 31 games, showing flashes of NHL reliability, and he also had 22 points in 24 AHL games. 27 years old now, the Minnesota native is building a long history of producing well in the minors.

Carrick and Kinkaid both bring NHL experience to the table and are valuable options in the case of injury-related recalls. Kinkaid takes the reigns as the likely starting goalie in AHL Providence, serving as solid insurance for an injury to either Jeremy Swayman or Linus Ullmark.