With the 2010-11 season set to begin on Saturday, few Capitals players are as intriguing as defenseman Mike Green. Limited to 49 games last season due to a shoulder injury early and a pair of head injuries late in the season, Green’s production plummeted to just eight goals and 16 assists. That was his lowest total since 2006-07, his first full NHL season.
But Green believes he was a far more effective player in his own end last year and both coach Bruce Boudreau and general manager George McPhee agree. Not hard to find people outside the organization to back up that notion. NBC/VERSUS analyst Ed Olczyk had this to say in a conference call with reporters earlier in the week.
“We talked about it a lot last year during our coverage on NBC and VERSUS. That I felt anyways, until Mike Green got banged up, that I didn’t see a defenseman that improved more defensively in the entire National Hockey League than Mike Green,” Olczyk said. “Yes, his points suffered by it severely. But he became a better defensive defenseman and I think he committed to being that way.”
Strong words. But the numbers do back them up. For every 60 minutes Green was on the ice at even strength last season, the Caps allowed 2.11 goals per game. That was a career-low and ranked third on the team among defensemen behind John Carlson (1.93) and Karl Alzner (1.90) and 51st overall among all NHL defensemen who played at least 40 games. It was also a big step up from Green’s 2.37 goals against/60 in 2009-10. He did put up a 2.21 goals against/60 in 2008-09.
Obviously, the Caps would love to pair that kind of play in his own end with offensive numbers closer to the 73 points Green produced in 2008-09 or the 76 he had the following year. That’s a tall task, to be sure, and likely incumbent on a resurgent power play. But given Washington’s overall improvement on the blueline last season – only Nashville, Vancouver and Boston allowed fewer than the Caps’ 2.33 goals against per game – maybe not out of the realm of possibility. It won’t hurt that Green will likely be paired with veteran Roman Hamrlik, who was even better last season at 2.05 goals against/60 with slightly tougher quality of competition (0.042 vs. -0.019).
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