Islanders trade for Devils’ Andy Greene

The New York Islanders haven’t scored a goal in two games, but they desperately needed help on the back end before this season’s trade deadline.  They addressed that issue on Sunday, trading for Devils’ captain Andy Greene in exchange for a 2021 second round pick and prospect David Quenneville.

Greene is 37 and on the last year of his contract, but fills a big hole in the Islanders’ lineup.  Although the Islanders are built as a defensive team, the loss of Adam Pelech for the season made acquiring someone like Greene a priority.  The Islanders have relied too much over the past few weeks on their Top 5 D-Men, sheltering Noah Dobson and refusing to put Sebastian Aho in the lineup.

It was a heavy price to pay for Greene but the former captain brings a couple of things to the table that the Islanders need;  He eats up ice time.  He’s been averaging more than 20 minutes for the Devils for years now, even at his age.

In addition to eating up time, he eats up valuable time.  Greene is one of the best penalty killing defensemen in the league.  With the Islanders in the middle of the pack on the penalty kill, bringing in Greene is essential in shoring up a middling defense.

Most importantly, the trade for Greene gives the Islanders another veteran presence in a room full of young faces.  Greene was the captain of the Devils for five seasons.  Through the good and bad, Greene has always been an extremely reliable player, and young players like Noah Dobson could learn a lot from him.

One of the most interesting tidbits of this trade was the fact that Greene specifically removed his no-trade clause to be reunited with former Devils’ GM Lou Lamoriello.  According to Arthur Staple of The Athletic, Lamoriello had inquired on Greene as soon as Adam Pelech tore his achilles.  Greene spoke it over with his family and agreed that because of the team environment and close proximity to New Jersey that the Islanders were the perfect destination for him.

Time will tell on how the trade pans out for the Islanders, but as of now it was a more than necessary move.  If Greene becomes the player the Islanders need him to be, that’s worth the pick and David Quenneville.  They lose a higher than expected pick and a decent prospect in Quenneville but they gain a hell of a player in Andy Greene.