Time for Mike Green to Become a Defenseman

Friday night, I went to the Washington Capitals game against Carolina and I was shocked to hear from the fans outright frustration and anger towards Mike Green. The 24 year old broke a record last season for longest consecutive point streak for a defenseman and amassed 31 total goals and 42 assists leading all defensemen. So far this season Green is third on the team with 32 points. Despite being immensely talented, Green was also the subject of much criticism last season during the playoffs with only 1 goal and 8 assists in 14 games. Green was clearly out of shape and his game suffered because of it.

Green focused on his conditioning in the offseason and came into the season in much better shape. Why all the criticism now? Because the one thing he doesn't seem to be improving on is his defensive play. On Friday, Carolina, the league's lowest scoring team, scored three goals. The first goal, Green took the puck from the defensive zone and skated deep into Carolina's zone. He made a bad pass that was intercepted and then he was sent sprawling with a huge hit. He got up slowly and Carolina managed an odd man rush to score. Later in the game, the Capitals had a 3-2 lead with a power play. Green skated around the point deeper into the zone and tried to pass over to the other side of the ice. The pass was intercepted by Tim Gleason who scored off of the breakaway. Green did manage to score the game winner in OT, but the game would not have gone into OT had he not allowed those two goals.

Green has a very offensive style of play. While this in its self is not a bad thing, it can be when Green leaves the team defensively shorthanded. The Capitals are the highest scoring team in the league by far, but they are only ranked 16 in goals allowed. Defense needs to be a higher priority for the Capitals as a whole. I'm not saying that Green needs to abandon his offensive ways. That would be stupid since that's what makes him such a great player. He has clearly, however, made a conscious effort to improve his offensive play and his conditioning. Now it is time to work on his defense. After all, he is a defenseman.

Already one can see a difference in his style of play. Last season he had 31 goals while this season he is on pace for about 15. His 32 total points, however, puts him on pace for 77 points, above even his 73 point mark last season. He may not be scoring as much, but he is contributing to the offense. This also shows that while he may still be caught out of position, he is not as aggressive as he has been. More importantly, it shows he can see plays developing. This makes him a potentially invaluable asset as a defensemen. The reason why a playmaker like Sergei Federov could play both offense and defense is because he knew how offensive plays develop. Green has this same ability.

The Capitals are the best offensive team in the league. What they need is consistent defensive play. With Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Niklas Backstrom, and the numerous other offensive playmakers the Capitals have, they will continue to put points on the board even if Green holds himself back. What would you feel safer with, Ovechkin alone up top or Jeff Schultz alone on defense? That's a no brainer.