Mike Green has been in the rumor mill all season. He's an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, and the question still remains, only a few weeks from the NHL Trade Deadline: What will the Washington Capitals do?
Over the last few weeks, Green has become invaluable to the Caps. His fifth-D rotation is working out perfectly for the team and his power-play presence is back to what it was just a few seasons ago. There aren't a lot of guys in the league with the kind of puck control and foot skills as Green, and the Caps know that he would be very valuable come playoff time.
However, the Capitals do have a few holes to fill up the middle if they do want to be taken seriously in the post season. The recent line shuffling had Eric Fehr in the second-line center position alongside Joel Ward and Brooks Laich. That line has been sensational for Washington since being put together, but they belong in a third-line role.
The second line center has been a point of contention all season, and Marcus Johansson has answered only some of the issues the Caps face. Andre Burakovsky and Evgeny Kuznetsov also have shared time in the spot, but neither seemed necessarily comfortable.
If the Caps want to add to their roster, they're going to have part ways with Green to free up any cap space, but they're also going to have to get someone back in return who can fill the void that he will leave or grab that elusive center.
Dmitry Orlov will eventually come back and his skill set is highly coveted by the Caps, however he hasn't played since last season after breaking his wrist in the Worlds. If he does make a return before the deadline, Green could be sent away. If Orlov isn't ready, I can't see Green going anywhere.
One idea, that is more of a pipedream really, is if Green signs a hometown discount to remain in Washington. He wants to stay, but the money he could get elsewhere will no doubt be staggering. If the Caps do rent him out to a team like Detroit or Montreal, Green could just re-sign in DC come summer time.
Detroit and Montreal seem to be very interested, but do they have what the Caps want? Los Angeles, for me, is an interesting team to watch here. They could offer up Mike Richards in exchange for Green. That way the Caps get their center man (a very good center man still that will play appropriate minutes) and the Caps will also send Green out of the East. I can't imagine why they would want to send him to a team they could potentially face in the post-season.
A dark horse for me would be Colorado and Ryan O'Reilly. He's a big ticket guy, and the Caps probably couldn't keep him here, but it might be worth it.
More to come...
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