Islanders: Pros and cons of trading for Andy Greene

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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – JANUARY 04: Andy Greene #6 of the New Jersey Devils prepares to play against the Colorado Avalanche at the Prudential Center on January 04, 2020 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The New York Islanders made a trade! They acquired Andy Greene from the New Jersey Devils. What are the pros and cons of the deal?

On Sunday, the New York Islanders made only their second trade since May of 2018. They acquired Andy Greene from the New Jersey Devils for a defensive prospect that has been bouncing around the lower leagues this year and a pick in 2021.

The move gives the Islanders a veteran defenseman that can immediately slot into the roster and hopefully, help the Isles stop the bleeding on the blueline since Adam Pelech went down with a season-ending injury.

The price to acquire Greene for the remainder of the year was defensive prospect David Quenneville and a second-round pick in 2021. Greene waived his no-trade clause in order to move from the Devils to the Islanders.

Greene made the flight to Arizona from New Jersey catch up with his new team as they set to play the Coyotes on Monday. He’ll likely be in the lineup ready to go for game number one in blue and orange this Monday.

Now that he’s on board, and we know the cost to acquire the veteran defenseman, what are the pros and cons of acquiring Andy Greene?

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – MARCH 21: Chris Wagner #14 of the Boston Bruins and Andy Greene #6 of the New Jersey Devils battle for position during the first period at the Prudential Center on March 21, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Pros

Penalty Killer

Greene leads the New Jersey Devils in time on ice on the penalty kill. A penalty kill that ranks 14th in the NHL with an 80.7 percent efficiency. Much like Pelech, Greene does a good job of shutting down the slot for the Devils.

That’s should be a huge advantage for the Islanders as they attempt to replace Adam Pelech while he recovers.

Good Defender

We can say what we want about the Devils ability to keep pucks out of the net, but shot maps show that when Green was on the ice, the Devils did a good job of closing out the bottom portion of the defensive zone this season.

The Price

The Islanders didn’t have to give up too much in order to get Greene for a year.

David Quenneville has been in the Islanders system since 2016 and split his time between the ECHL and AHL this year scoring eight points in 32 games between the two leagues. He wasn’t a factor in the Isles system and likely wouldn’t have been, maybe he has a better shot with the Devils.

The second-round pick is for next year so we won’t know the value of the pick until the end of the 2020-21 season. But for now, any draft pick should have been used as fodder in order to improve the roster today.

Knows Lou

Lou has a lot of rules and I can imagine that not every player in the NHL wants to play for him because of them. Andy Greene has played under a Lou Lamoriello system for years. He’s used to Lou’s ways.

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – NOVEMBER 23: Andy Greene #6 of the New Jersey Devils goes after the puck in the second period against the New York Islanders at Prudential Center on November 23, 2018 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Cons

Age

At 37-years old, Andy Greene isn’t going to be getting any better. In fact, it could all fall apart at any second. Bringing in an aging vet to help a playoff push is a tried-and-tested move in the NHL. But it doesn’t always work.

Greene doesn’t have the same skating ability he once did, something that could be exposed as the season wears on and the calendar flips to April.

The Islanders were already one of the older teams in the NHL and now they got even older. I understand that wisdom matters, but in a game that is progressively getting younger by the day, adding 37-year-old veterans seems very much against the grain.

Isn’t a Forward

The Islanders biggest need was upfront. There’s a real worry that the only move Lou Lamoriello makes during the trade deadline is bringing in Andy Greene.

It would be great if Greene can help the PK and maybe give the blueline some of the stability it’s been missing since Pelech has been out. But that won’t help the Islanders put more pucks in the back of the net.

Next. Isles best players of the last decade

With back-to-back shut outs, the New York Islanders fell to 23rd in the NHL in goals-for on the season. They need help up top and Green isn’t going to do that. His career-high is eight goals in a single season back in 2013-14.

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