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With the NHL Trade Deadline just a few weeks away, teams around the NHL will be scouting out potential acquisitions that could help bolster their chances of making the playoffs, or in some cases, selling off veteran players to begin a rebuild. The Capitals’ front office is no different and arguably, the most glaring need for the Capitals is another veteran defenseman to bolster their blueline. One player that has been brought up in conversations amongst fans and pundits is former Caps defenseman Mike Green, who is the Detroit Red Wings’ most valuable trade chip. But should the Caps consider a reunion with Green?
When Green departed the Capitals nearly three years ago on July 1, 2015, one of the biggest reasons for it was the team’s recent signings of Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen (a right-handed defenseman like Green), and the fact that Green was without a doubt, the most-coveted free agent blueliner. Now in the final year of a three-year, $18 million contract with the Red Wings, Green would be an interesting acquisition for the Caps, if they were to truly make a push. But is a reunion with the former first-round pick a good idea?
In his heyday with Washington, Green was arguably, the best offensive defenseman in the league and consistently put up points as part of a high-flying Capitals team. Now 32-years old, Green’s game has become more balanced. In 50 games played this season, Green has scored five goals and added 21 assists for 26 points, with a minus-5 rating, while averaging 22:35 minutes a night for a struggling Red Wings team. While Green’s defensive game has never been as good as his offensive game, he is currently averaging 2.4 defensive point shares (the number of points contributed by a player due to his defense).
While the Caps’ defense hasn’t been terrible this season, there’s no doubt that Madison Bowey and Christian Djoos, the two rookies who have seen regular playing time this season, have had their fair share of struggles this season as they adjust to the NHL. And while they have held up okay, it wouldn’t hurt to add a veteran defenseman to give the blueline some stability and to allow the youngsters to continue to develop.
While the Capitals know what Green can do, and vice versa (Green played one season under Capitals’ Head Coach Barry Trotz in his final season in D.C.), there are some obstacles that could prevent such a reunion from happening. Perhaps the biggest is cap space. The Capitals have just $1,217,476 in available cap space, per CapFriendly, meaning the Red Wings would have to retain some of Green’s salary in order to make a trade work, and/or the Caps would have to send a player with a substantial cap hit in return.
While re-acquiring Green makes sense in a lot of ways, there are also some roadblocks that would make a trade unattainable. What do you think Caps fans? Should the Caps consider a reunion with Mike Green, should they look elsewhere for defensive help, or are you satisfied with their current defensive situation?
By Michael Fleetwood
It was his two stupid penalties that resulted in PP goals in game 7s that forces me to say, no
I’ve always said that Mike Green’s All-Star selections (like Mike Piazza’s in baseball) had much more to do with his offense than it did with his defense. Green, psychologically, was just a wierd player. He’d commit stupid penalties, take incorrect angles to puck carriers at center ice and in the defensive zone, get burned for it and then pout for the rest of the game. I couldn’t stand him. He was just too mistake prone.
But short memories and arrogance will probably conspire to make GMBM feel as if he has to make a big splash at the trading deadline—just like his nitwit predecessor GMGM did a few years back when he traded the former jewel of our farm system at the time (Filip Forsberg) for two future Hall-of-Famers named Latta and Erat…I’ll always hate George McPhee for that. By the way, if you’ll recall, when asked in a press conference at the time what persuaded him to make that move he replied, “Because I want to win NOW!!”
What imbecile, looking at our roster that year could possibly have thought that adding a pair of immortals like the 32 year old Martin Erat and career do-nothing Michael Latta would EVER have culminated in us winning Lord Stanley’s Cup? Why, GMGM, that’s who…and now Brian MacLellan wants to go and do likewise with another over-rated defenseman in Mike Green …Good luck with that one…(PLEASE recall Kevin Shattenkirk who St. Louis Blues fans HATED when he had to play defense…)
End,
Clifford
Santa Monica
Hard no. What we need right now is a shutdown defenseman. Somebody that can match up against Malkin and play on the PK. We’ll get torched by Pittsburgh in the playoffs if we don’t add someone. The Hjalmarsson idea that was in a previous article makes perfect sense. We can add a high quality piece that we really need without giving up assets that are going to cost us too much.
We definitely need a D-man who can move the puck, these turnovers in our zone happen way to much. Not sure MGreen is who we need but would help with that aspect. Just don’t know who is available that’s a shutdown DMAN with good puck handling skills.
AGREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!!!!!!
Not easy to find defensemen like the one you described…but if so they would be named Borje Salming, Brad Park or Bobby Orr–and the Caps would have to mortgage what little is left of their farm system and\or youngsters like Andre Burakovsky in order to get one…
Clifford
Sta. Monica
Oh hell no. Not unless the calls want more turnovers.
I’ve always said that Mike Green’s All-Star selections (like Mike Piazza’s in baseball) had much more to do with his offense than it did with his defense. Green, psychologically, was just a wierd player. He’d commit stupid penalties, take incorrect angles to puck carriers at center ice and in the defensive zone, get burned for it and then pout for the rest of the game. I couldn’t stand him. He was just too mistake prone.
But short memories and arrogance will probably conspire to make GMBM feel as if he has to make a big splash at the trading deadline—just like his nitwit predecessor GMGM did a few years back when he traded the former jewel of our farm system at the time (Filip Forsberg) for two future Hall-of-Famers named Latta and Erat…I’ll always hate George McPhee for that. By the way, if you’ll recall, when asked in a press conference at the time what persuaded him to make that move he replied, “Because I want to win NOW!!”
What imbecile, looking at our roster that year could possibly have thought that adding a pair of immortals like the 32 year old Martin Erat and career do-nothing Michael Latta would EVER have culminated in us winning Lord Stanley’s Cup? Why, GMGM, that’s who…and now Brian MacLellan wants to go and do likewise with another over-rated defenseman in Mike Green …Good luck with that one…(PLEASE recall Kevin Shattenkirk who St. Louis Blues fans HATED defensively…)
If Washington does what I think, we’ll see MacLellan make yet another trade deadline splash with yet another stupid assed, short sighted, stop gap, corner-cutting, penny wise but pound-foolish move to get this team closer to winning a Stanley Cup. Sacrificing a young player like a Vrana or a Stephensen or an Andre Burakovsky (which is what it would take) in exchange for an over-rated, mistake prone 32 year old defenseman like Mike Green won’t achieve that…..AT ALL….But GMBM and his wooden headed coach Barry Trotz will probably do it anyway…
End,
Clifford
Santa Monica
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Mike Green should I go back to the capitals to retire as a franchise player