This piece will be another in my series of player profiles, where I’ll give some thoughts on the performance of a member of the New York Islanders this season. This article will focus on Andy Greene.
This is kind of a weird player profile to do, due to the fact that the player I’m profiling here only played 10 games with the Islanders. Oh well, here we go.
When Greene was acquired, I got quite a bit of criticism after I wrote that the trade was a poor decision if other moves weren’t made as well. However, after seeing New York make a move to acquire Jean-Gabriel Pageau and actually take a step in addressing their scoring needs, I changed my tone on the deal.
As for Greene’s play with the Islanders, he was reliable and helped to fill in the gap left by Adam Pelech’s injury. He was also immediately placed on the penalty kill, which he’s perfectly suited for. He wasn’t counted on to make key plays with the puck but instead just to make the simple play to keep the puck out of danger, which he was usually able to do.
In terms of Greene’s future with the Islanders, he’s on an expiring contract and whether he returns to New York next season is up in the air. The Islanders were already using seven defensemen before Pelech’s injury and need to re-sign Ryan Pulock and Devon Toews (plus, they’re still paying Thomas Hickey as well). Not only could Greene’s role be different with Pelech back but there’s also the question of how much the Islanders can afford to spend on the back end. If I had to guess, the Islanders likely don’t bring Greene back based on their crowded situation on defense as well as the need to make sure everyone fits under the cap, though for the right price, I imagine there’s a possibility that Greene returns.
Here's today's poll (results and discussion for the all of the week's polls will be posted in an article every Saturday going forward):
Should the Islanders try to re-sign Andy Greene for next season?
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