New Jersey Devils: Five Last-Minute Free Agents To Consider

The Devils had the services of Andy Greene for a long time. He was as steady of a defensive defenseman as you can find for a very long time in his tenure with the team. He also brought an element of leadership to the team that even earned him the title of team captain. In the final year of his contract, however, the Devils traded him to the New York Islanders to get some assets for a guy on an expiring contract (it was a 2nd-round pick in 2021 and defenseman David Quenneville).

Greene went to the Islanders and played there COVID-19 paused the season. He was invited to the return to play bubble with them and they made a deep run. It was awesome to see Greene have a chance to do something like that for the first time in a long time. It was weird to see him in another team’s colors but bringing him back for another season might not be a bad idea.

First, if he came back, it is almost certain that he wouldn’t be the captain. They are probably going to hand that honor to someone else soon and that ship has sailed for Greene. He can, however, still be a solid leader without a letter being sewn onto his sweater. He can also be a 5th or 6th defenseman on a team that really isn’t that deep at the position anyway.