Is Mike Green Damaged Goods?

This off season Ken Holland got his right-handed defenseman when he signed Mike Green to a 3-year deal. Despite playing a reduced role, Green scored an impressive 45 points in only 72 games making him seem like an ideal fit for the Wings. However, some critics bemoaned the deal, pointing to Green’s playoff struggles against the New York Rangers. Some believe the Rangers’ comeback was due to targeting and exploiting Mike Green. If the Rangers found the book on Green, Ken Holland may have paid good money for a diminished asset.



The numbers suggest Green did struggle in the series. Despite playing the same sheltered third pair minutes, he managed a Score-Adjusted Corsi For% of only 47.72% during the Rangers series. Looking at each game individually, Green had a negative relative Corsi for the final 4 games confirming the idea that he struggled down the stretch. To make matters worse, he had no offense to make up for his struggles, managing only 1 scoring chance in the final 4 games.

Another reason to blame Green was his penalties in game 7. The second penalty was a stupid play by Green, he hit Dan Girardi in the back as they battled for a loose puck. However on the first penalty we see the Rangers take advantage of Green’s deficiencies. On the counterattack, Dominic Moore caught a pass from the center and looked to attack the net. Initially protecting the center of the ice, Green went to pressure Moore but went out too far and was caught in a bad position.

With his right foot forward, Green could not immediately move back to the middle, he had to c-cut with his right foot to get square first. Knowing he is in a bad position, Green tried a poke check but missed, allowing Moore to cut inside and Green took the penalty to prevent the scoring chance.

This penalty shows the biggest issue with Green’s game, his poor defensive positioning. Green is an incredibly skilled offensive player, a good skater with patience and elite puck skill. However, he is an equally poor defensive player, particularly away from the puck. Rather than watching his man, Green is often caught puck watching and leaves his man, hoping to steal the puck and start the breakout. When it works, he turns loose pucks into odd man rushes, however when it doesn’t, the opposition has a scoring chance of their own. While I found nothing to suggest the Rangers targeted Green directly, the speed and skill of the Rangers made it difficult for him to generate odd man rushes.

Fully utilizing Green's incredible offensive abilities has always been difficult due to his defensive deficiencies. Against the Rangers, the Capitals failed in this task. Paired with the big bruising Tim Gleason, Green was solely responsible for leading the breakout and Gleason was unable to help out when Green was beat. Ideally Green should play with a strong skater who can also move the puck effectively. A strong puck mover would take pressure off Green to lead the breakout by himself, potentially limiting the number of overaggressive plays. However the partner would also need to be quick enough to help cover when Green does eventually make these risky plays. Thankfully, the Red Wings' Dan DeKeyser has both qualities. DeKeyser’s speed, passing ability and defensive positioning is perfectly suited to take advantage of Green’s immense talent without being weighed down by his defensive deficiencies.