Islanders: Making the Case to Re-sign Andy Greene for the Upcoming Season

The New York Islanders have a chance to re-sign veteran defenseman Andy Greene for the upcoming season. Here’s the case on why they should.

Earlier this offseason, Lou Lamoriello said that there is a “strong chance” that Andy Greene will return to the New York Islanders. That was a few weeks ago and the rumor mill has been silent on Greene and his return to Long Island.

The 37-year-old defenseman has just completed his 14th NHL season. Before he was traded to the Islanders in mid-February of last season, he was a one-team player. Greene played his whole career with the New Jersey Devils.

This offseason the Islanders have traded

Devon Toews

to the Colorado Avalanche and there seems to be a gap on the blueline. At their disposal, the blue and orange have

Ryan Pulock

,

Adam Pelech

,

Nick Leddy

,

Johnny Boychuk

,

Noah Dobson

,

Scott Mayfield

,

Sebastian Aho

, and

Thomas Hickey

.

Obviously, we will see Dobson’s role increase on the Isles blue line, but the Islanders need a reliable player that they can count on in all situations on their d-core.

Andy Greene is an extremely reliable defenseman, who can fill the gap on the Isles blueline. He can be a solid sixth or seventh option for the Isles. In his long career, Greene has played in 933 games and has 249 points. He is known for being a defensive defenseman who plays smart. He does his job in the defensive zone and makes the easy breakout pass.

Looking back at the 2020 postseason: Greene got scratched for game one against the Florida Panthers, but Boychuk sustained an injury in the game, and Greene was called in for game two. Greene performed so well during the postseason that Barry Trotz and the Islanders coaching staff could not take him out of the lineup for the rest of the postseason.

Greene played the remainder of the Islanders playoff games and had two goals, two assists, and had a +2 plus/minus in 21 games.

Even the guys over at the NHL Network think the Islanders should keep Greene:

Greene can be an asset for the Isles for the upcoming 2021 season and there is a compelling case for the Isles to re-sign him.

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Only time will tell if the Islanders will in fact sign Greene. At the end of the day he is an unrestricted free agent and every team has a shot at signing him.

Isles Country: Should the Islanders sign Greene for the 2021 season? Leave your comments below!

*All Stats Provided by the NHL*