Edmonton Oilers 2019-20 player review: Mike Green
3 years ago
If you had to work late on February 25 and 26, it’s likely you missed Mike Green’s time with the Edmonton Oilers so far.
The Oilers acquired Green from the Detroit Red Wings in February for Kyle Brodziak and a conditional fourth-round pick in either the 2020 or 2021 draft. In 48 games with the Red Wings, Green put up 11 points.
Oilers GM Ken Holland is very familiar with Green from their time together with the Red Wings.
Probably best known for his seasons with the Washington Capitals, Green was drafted by them 29th overall in 2004. It wasn’t until 2008-09 that Green really became known as a premier offensive defenseman, when he put up 73 points, and then followed that up with a 76 point season in 2009-10.
Since then, Green’s come back down to Earth. He signed with Detroit in 2015, where over five seasons, Green averaged 0.47 PPG. For context, Oscar Klefbom has averaged 0.41 PPG over seven seasons with Edmonton. Is Green better than Klefbom? Most definitely not, but if he’s got some gas left in the tank, then he can still be a useful depth defender if he’s given some power playtime.
Even at 34, Green was averaging over 20 minutes a night on a (historically) terrible Detroit Red Wings. He won’t get that much with the Oilers, but in the two games Green did play in before his injury, he was being used a surprising amount. Green played 12:48 and 19:42 minutes respectively, including 1:53 on the PK in his second game with the team when they faced Vegas.
Unfortunately, Green’s time with the Oilers was stopped by a MCL injury that most likely occurred when he collided knee-on-knee with Golden Knights’ forward Chandler Stephenson.
Luckily for Green and the Oilers, this play stoppage has most likely allowed Green to recover from this injury. And come playoff time, Green is exactly the type of veteran depth teams need to make deep runs. With 37 points in 76 playoff games, he’s shown that he can perform in the postseason (although the last time he was in the playoffs was 2015-16.)
Among Oilers defensemen, Green had the worst goal differential per 60 minutes on the season, sporting a -1.338. That being said, this includes his time with Detroit, a team that allowed a league-worst *checks notes* -123 goal differential?? So take that into context when looking through some of his stats this season.
While the Oilers are unlikely to get 2008-09 31-goal-scorer-Norris-trophy-finalist Mike Green, maybe 2020 Mike Green is exactly the type of steady presence they need should the season start back up in the near (?) future.
Even so, he’s likely to continue to slot behind fellow right-handed shot defenders Ethan Bear, Adam Larsson and Matt Benning, which means Green should have a spot as a rotation defender on the Oilers’ third pairing.
Green’s a UFA after this season. Should the Oilers feel prospect Evan Bouchard (another right-handed shot) is ready to step into the league full-time, Green’s spot on the roster becomes even more of a question. Holland seems to be high on the veteran, but it’s unlikely the Oilers and Green agree on a new deal unless Green agrees to take a serious pay cut from his current $5,375,000 cap hit.
Recent articles from Matthew Coyte
