50 Greatest New Jersey Devils Players of All Time: Numbers 40-31

Greatest New Jersey Devils player of all time: 31. Andy Greene

On to another defenseman, this one had the same lore as White and Martin, but he had a much longer career in NJ. Andy Greene spent 14 seasons in New Jersey before playing his last three on Long Island (are you also surprised he played three seasons outside New Jersey, too?). He had 923 games with the Devils, spending about five seasons as the team’s captain. He took on the “C” after Bryce Salvador retired in 2015.

Greene had a similar role to Damon Severson in that he was often placed in a position to fail because of the status of the Devils defense. Should he have been averaging over 20 minutes per game in his age-37 season? Of course not, but that was the lore of Andy Greene. He was everything the Devils needed him to be.

While he wasn’t a statistical machine, Greene was very good on both sides of the ice at his peak. He was fearless, often at the top of the NHL in blocked shots. He had more than 200 blocked shots in 2018-19.

Greene was a big part of the Devils defense in 2012 when they made a run to the Stanley Cup Final. He played 22 minutes a game, and he focused solely on stopping pucks. He only had one assist in 24 games, but he made sure the Devils were in a position to win. It was what Greene did for more than 900 games, as he was a leader from the day he left the University of Miami (Ohio).