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All-Star Today, Gone Tomorrow? |
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Jeff Blashill has seen Mike Green grow more comfortable in his role with the Detroit Red Wings in each of his three seasons in a Detroit uniform.
After a decade with the Washington Capitals, Green, 32, joined the Wings as an unrestricted free agent in 2015, inking a three-year deal. Naturally, there was an adjustment period to his new home.
“The first year with our organization, when you’ve been with one organization your whole life and you switch, there’s a feeling out process,” Wings coach Blashill said. “Last year, I thought he was one of our better players though lots of the year.
“He’s continued that on.”
Green leads all Detroit defensemen and is fourth in overall team scoring with 4-20-24 numbers through 41 games. Green leads the Red Wings in average time on ice (22:39) and has produced six multi-point games this season, including the first-ever game at Little Caesars Arena, when he became the first Red Wings defenseman to have a four-point game since Nicklas Lidstrom (Dec. 27, 2010 at Colorado) and the first player at any position to have a four-assist game since Niklas Kronwall (Dec. 19, 2007 vs. Los Angeles), with four helpers in Detroit’s 4-2 win over the Minnesota Wild.
Those numbers helped make Green the Wings’ selection to the Atlantic Division team for the Jan. 28 NHL All-Star Game at Tampa’s Amalie Arena. Green is the first Detroit defenseman to be named to the All-Star Game since Lidstrom in 2011 and the first Detroit defenseman not named Lidstrom to be picked to play in the game since Chris Chelios in 2002.
“He’s a great player,” teammate Martin Frk said of Green. “You can see it on the power play. He always finds you.”
The last NHL defenseman to score 30 goals in a season, Blashill sees Green’s greatness in not only his ability, but in his determination to continue to improve on his game.
“He’s a great, great skater. He’s 30-something years old and he went home and hired a skating instructor all summer,” Blashill explained. “That’s the type of commitment it takes to be an elite athlete. He’s got that type of care level.”
Green is also experienced enough to understand the realities of the game. He’s in the last year of his deal with the Wings and would prove invaluable to a contender as a rental player, meaning he will be highly sought after at the NHL trade deadline. The Wings should be able to command a high price for his services.
“Yeah, I’ve been in the league for a while,” Green said. “I understand.
“I’m day-to-day. I don’t think about it. The chips will fall where they fall.”
Until that day comes, Green intends to focus on how he can help the Wings while he’s still here.
“We have the ability to be fast and when we play fast, I think we create a lot of confusion for the other team,” Green said. “Not only that, I think we have some skill players up front that can create a lot of offense, as long as we sustain pressure in the O-zone and we don’t sit back on our heels and let the other team come to us.”
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