In just four games with Bruins, A.J. Greer already has career highs in goals and points

BOSTON -- When the Bruins signed A.J. Greer in July, it was a move that didn't exactly draw much attention. Understandably so.

A 25-year-old winger with two career goals and eight career points in 47 games played over the course of five NHL seasons, Greer's two-year deal with a $762,500 cap hit wasn't exactly considered a lineup-altering move for Boston.

Yet occasionally in sports, a late bloomer comes along. And Greer may be just that for the Bruins.

In Tuesday night's chaotic goal-fest, Greer scored the goal that tied the score at 3-3 early in the second period. The 6-foot-3 winger found some space in front of the net, took a feed from Charlie Coyle, and -- with the benefit of some net-front traffic from Trent Frederic -- ripped a shot past Anton Forsberg.

For Greer, this marked his third goal in just four games with the Bruins. That's after scoring two total goals in 47 career games from 2016-22.

Greer has also picked up a couple of assists this season, bringing his point total to five -- which already sets a new single-season high. After registering eight total points in 47 games with Colorado and New Jersey, he has five points in four games with the Bruins.

In the young season, Greer is tied for eighth in the NHL in goals and tied for 17th in points.

Certainly, nobody could have foreseen this relative offensive explosion from Greer. But it's also not coming out of nowhere.

Greer has had a couple of productive AHL seasons, including last year with the Utica Comets. In 53 AHL games, Greer scored 22 goals and added 30 assists. He rounded out his game with 102 penalty minutes, showing he wasn't hesitant to use his large frame when necessary. All of those numbers were career highs, and they helped Greer establish some confidence entering this season.

That carried into the preseason, when Greer scored a couple of goals -- including an overtime winner -- and endeared himself by throwing his fists around in his debut.

Even in the preseason, GM Don Sweeney's assessment from the summer appeared to have been accurate.

"I think he understands, in talking with him today, doing our background work on him -- I think he understands himself a lot better as to what type of player he is and how to be successful. And hopefully that translates," Sweeney said in July. "I mean, from the skating and a speed standpoint, getting on pucks and being an aggressive mindset with his size, it's an attractive quality for us to add to our group."

After scoring on Saturday night against the Coyotes, Greer lifted the B on his sweater and gave it a kiss in front of the home crowd.

"I just kind of was overwhelmed when I scored that goal and I just wanted to show my love for the Bruins and for the fans, because without them, you know, the energy's not there," Greer said after that win. "It was such a great building tonight. It was just an awesome evening -- even just getting my name introduced at the beginning and stuff, it was awesome."

Obviously, the former BU Terrier wants to stick around in Boston. He's made that quite clear with everything he's said off the ice.

Yet it's what he does on the ice that will play a larger role in that effort. Though his Bruins career is only four games old, it's already gone better than anyone could have rightly imagined.