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Should New Jersey Devils Be Worried About Andy Greene?

By Nick Villano

Apr 9, 2017; Detroit, MI, USA; New Jersey Devils defenseman Andy Greene (6) skates off the ice near an octopus after the game against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings won 4-1 in their last game at the Joe. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 9, 2017; Detroit, MI, USA; New Jersey Devils defenseman Andy Greene (6) skates off the ice near an octopus after the game against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings won 4-1 in their last game at the Joe. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Andy Greene was once the unsung hero of the New Jersey Devils blue line. Now, he could become a liability.

New Jersey Devils’ captain Andy Greene was once the rock on the back end of the team. He wasn’t flashy, but he would always be exactly where he needed to be, and would always make a play when the Devils needed it.

Last year, however, was rough to watch. The Devils defense was plain awful. After years of rooting for one of the best defensive teams of this generation, watching the team’s defense now is just sad. Greene is the leader of that defense, but at 34 years old, he may have lost a step.

The fall off started last season for Greene. His offensive numbers fell off a cliff, scoring just 13 points in a full 82 game season. Despite missing 16 games this year, he hit the same points mark. The last time he had less points was the 2008-09 season where he played 49 games.

While it is a flawed stat, Greene found a way to keep his +/- in the positive despite all the losing seasons. That changed last season. He went from positive, to -16 in just one season. Obviously, changing Adam Larsson for Ben Lovejoy does not help that, but that number is still jarring.

Even the advanced numbers look bad for Greene. His Corsi For Percentage was better than the year before, but much worse than his best seasons. His CF% was 43.1 in 2016-17. It was 52.2 percent three years ago. To compare, Matt Niskanen had a 52.7 percent Corsi For.

Should the Devils be worried about their captain?

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Depends on what the team expects from him going forward. He will be 35 years old in October. He won’t be able to anchor the top line like he once did. If his expectations are to once again be the best defenseman on the ice, then he will let the team down.

He has three years left on his deal, paying him $5 million per season. Will he be able to play up to his price tag? Probably not, but he still has a lot to give the team on the ice. If the team lets him be the captain, then brings in someone to be a top-line defender, he can ease into his new role. The Devils shouldn’t be worried about Greene, as long as they give him the help he needs.

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