Once the strength of their team, the ' blue line has undergone some significant changes in recent years due to the retirements of Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski and the decline (and exit) of other long-time staples on their defense. In recent years they've mi sed out on some of the bigger name free agents ( in 2013; Matt Niskanen, Christian Ehrhoff, and others in 2014) to help fill that void and have instead relied on players from within the organization to make up the unit.The results, at times, have been mixed.This summer the Red Wings were able to dive into the free agent pool and signed former defenseman to a three-year, $18 million deal. Green is an interesting addition because he is another one of those players that offers very little gray area when it comes to analysis of his play and value. People either love him and what he provides offensively, or make him the focal point of all of their criticism whenever something goes wrong when he's on the ice.While he certainly has his shortcomings, especially when it comes to his play in the defensive zone at times, usually against bigger, stronger forwards in the corners when they're in on the forecheck, he has an incredible level of skill with the puck that is matched by few other defensemen in the league. It is an addition that should be huge for a Red Wings team that looks to transition into a new era under first-year coach Jeff Blashill.So why is it such a great match for both Green and the Red Wings?1. Green will get an increased role and chance to return to top-four duty:At one time Green was the clear No. 1 defenseman on the Capitals' blue line, and even though he had his fair share of critics for his defensive zone play, the objective evidence always pointed to the fact that he would play more than 25 minutes per night, usually against other team's top players, and help the Capitals come out ahead against them. It's hard to ask for more than that from a top-pairing defender, no matter how bad it sometimes looked.His ability to move the puck out of the defensive zone, jump into the play offensively, and be one of the most dangerous players in the league with the puck on his stick was an extremely valuable a set to the Capitals and a huge reason why they were at one time the most dangerous offensive team in the league. But because of injuries and coaching changes (and the philosophical changes that came with them) Green's role and production gradually started to dip in recent years.That started to change for the better under Barry Trotz in 2014-15 as Green saw an increase his production. That increase was not only due to the fact he was healthy enough to appear in at least 70 games in a season for just the third time in seven years, but also because Trotz (always known as a defensive-minded coach) started to give him more freedom to excel in offensive situations. Green was mostly relegated to a third-pairing role that saw him see most of his action in the offensive zone, something that obviously played to his strengths and hid his flaws. Hearing Blashill talk, though, it sounds as if he wants Green playing against other team's top players and getting loads of ice time.Here is Blashill from a lengthy (and very interesting) Q & A with Gregg Krupa of the Detroit News back in late July on what he's looking for from Green ( ):I went back and watched a bunch of his shifts, and hes my kind of player in the sense that I like a defenseman who can move the puck. And as I said when we signed him, the best defense is getting back the puck and moving it out of your zone.And I think he does that very, very well.So, I dont tend to look at what players cant do. Now, we certainly want to get better in areas that they need to get better at.I always judge players on did they make more positive plays than negative plays ...So, Ive had this conversation with Mike: I want to be able to play him against the other teams best players. I think thats the kind of ice time he can demand. ... And as long as all those negative plays arent going in our net and hes creating more positives than negatives, Andre Drummond Jersey then I think hell find his way to lots of ice time.That description is pretty much what Mike Green was during his peak years in Washington.He would play against top players, he would help the team defend by making sure they didn't have to play in the defensive zone, and even though there would be negative plays that would always be extensively analyzed and result in criticism of Green's playing style, the positive plays still outnumbered the bad ones. He's not going to be a 70-point guy again like he was six or seven years ago, but he showed this past season he can still excel offensively when healthy and given an opportunity to use his natural ability.2. Danny DeKeyser should be a perfect defensive partner:Even though the le ser role in Washington this past season helped get Green into more favorable offensive situations and had a positive impact on his scoring, it was also a curse at times because it meant that he was relegated to playing alongside other third-pairing defenders.And that's not always a positive, even if it comes with slightly easier competition.His top-three partners in 2014-15 with the Capitals in terms of ice time were , Jack Hillen and Tim Gleason. Who a player is partnered with plays a big role in how productive they can be, especially when it comes to defensemen because if you're stuck with a player that constantly gets targetted by the other team or is unable to make a play with the puck, it's going to have a negative impact on the entire operation.When it comes to defenders like Green -- guys that excel offensively and like to play more aggre sively with the puck -- the conventional wisdom almost always seems to be to pair them with a more responsible defensive, "stay-at-home" player. A player that won't take unnece sary risks and a player that you know will always be in the right position. The problem is that a lot of times it can be a counterproductive approach because teams tend to go too far with it and limit the skill guy by e sentially tying him down to an anchor. The more defensive player often times doesn't have the skill to keep up with his more talented partner or the puck skills to help break the puck out of the defensive zone. That can lead to more extended time in the wrong part of the ice and increase the chances that a player like Green will have his flaws exposed.In Detroit, it's expected that Green is going to play alongside Danny DeKeyser which should be the best of both worlds for everybody.Not only is Green the right-handed shot the Red Wings have coveted on their blue line (which matches perfectly with Dekeyser's left-handed shot), but DeKeyser has the defensive chops to help "protect" Green and his shortcomings in the defensive zone (former Red Wings coach Mike Babcock this past season) while also po se sing enough skating ability and puck skills to not be an anchor that holds the team back in terms of the break out. DeKeyser can move the puck, he chip in some offense, and he should be a perfect complement for what Green can bring offensively. 3. Mike Green can still be a force on the power play:Not that the Red Wings really needed to upgrade a power play unit that was the second most productive group in the NHL this past season, but Green gives them just one more additional weapon that they can throw out there when on the man-advantage. has done an admirable job quarterbacking the unit in recent years, but he was pretty much the only option they had as a defender. Over the past three seasons the only Red Wings defenders that scored more than one goal on the power play have been Kronwall (10), (3) and Marek Zidlicky (3).One of those guys (Zidlicky) isn't even on the team anymore.Even though Green managed just a single goal on the power play this past season (somewhat of a concern given the unit he played on and the minutes he received) he was still an excellent playmaker with 16 a sists, while the Capitals' power play as a whole was more dangerous and productive with him on the Saddiq Bey Jersey ice. If nothing else, it simply gives the Red Wings another option on the point for that unit and makes one of the best groups in the league that much deeper and better. And that's a scary thought for teams that think about getting overly physical with the Red Wings because the best deterrent for cheap shots is the threat of a power play goal.
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