The New York Islanders lost defenseman Nick Leddy this offseason, which means the team will have to fill a large hole on the blue line.
The ideal move would be to find an external replacement. If they can’t manage to add someone, however, the team may be forced to turn to Andy Greene to round out the top-four group.
Greene has spent the majority of his time with the Islanders on the bottom pairing, playing with Noah Dobson. He’ll be turning 39 years old in October and while he’s been a really solid depth addition to the Islanders’ blue line, increasing his role isn’t an ideal route for the team. He’s still very solid defensively and is a great partner for Dobson, but pushing a player who’s nearly 40 years old into a larger role at this stage probably isn’t the best move.
He averaged 17:35 per game this season, with 15:41 per game coming at even strength. Leddy, on the other hand, was averaging over 19 minutes per game at even strength, which led the entire team. As recently as the 2019-20 season though, Greene had been averaging over 20 minutes per game with the New Jersey Devils, before being acquired by the Islanders. While we shouldn’t expect Greene to get that kind of ice time if he’s called into action in the top-four, he’s likely the team’s best internal option to take over some of the responsibility.
Apart from usage being a potential concern though, Greene also isn't going to add much offense whatsoever. This would be somewhat concerning, as the team already struggles to score and Leddy was by far the top offensive defenseman. Greene moving up to the second-pairing would leave Ryan Pulock as the only member of the top-four group who has real offensive upside.
The fact is, the Islanders only have five real NHL defenders heading into next season as of now, and if it comes down to either Greene or Dobson getting an increased role, we can bet on Greene taking more responsibility.
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Would you feel comfortable with Andy Greene taking a role in the team's top-four group if the Islanders don't acquire another defender?
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