The New Jersey Devils traded their captain today, sending Andy Greene to the New York Islanders.

#Isles Transaction: The team has acquired Andy Greene from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for David Quenneville and the club’s 2021 second round pick. https://t.co/5QeNSOUtod — New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) February 16, 2020

New York Islanders Acquire Andy Greene

The Devils have traded their captain, veteran defenceman Andy Greene, to the Islanders in exchange for David Quenneville and the team’s 2021 second-round pick.

Greene has not only been the captain of the struggling Devils, but also their primary penalty killer. He is moving on from his only NHL team, signing as a free agent in 2006 after finishing his college career with Miami. He has played 14 seasons in New Jersey, with over 900 games patrolling the blue line. Named captain at the start of the 2015-16 season, Greene has been a stable influence during several volatile years.

Greene has always been used as a shut-down guard, getting more than 55% of his starts in the defensive zone over his career. His new team won’t be expecting a boost in offence from the former Devil. While he did spike to 25 points last season, between ten and fifteen is more typical of recent production.

What This Means For The Future

One positive for the Islanders is that Greene wants to play for them. He is in the last season of a five-year deal that includes a full no-trade clause, so he must like what he sees in his new team. Not to mention he has ties to Islanders Lou Lamoriello. Lamoriello signed Greene as an undrafted free agent when he was the general manager of the Devils. With the Islanders young defencemen struggling, the team needed to add a veteran presence is exactly what the team needs. The 37-year old is still playing 20 minutes a game on average. Whether he’ll be asked to take that many seems unlikely, but that he can is a consideration he took going into this deal. Greene will be a Ron Hainsey type player. His role most likely will be a third-pairing defenceman.

While he has never won a Cup, Greene has 50 playoff games on his resume, making the finals in 2011-12. That experience is going to be just as important in the coming weeks as his playing ability. Both Greene and Islanders are hoping that if this is indeed his last year, that he goes out on top.

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