The Devils Made The Right Move In Naming Andy Greene Captain

Fire&Ice- Defenseman Andy Greene got the news Thursday afternoon that he had been selected the 11th captain in Devils' history in a meeting with head coach John Hynes and general manager Ray Shero.

“They pulled me into their office and we talked it over and it's a huge honor and I'm very excited about it,” Greene said this morning.

“The first couple years I was a healthy scratch quite a bit and I had to fight my way into it,” Greene said. “Finally, one year there we had a couple of injuries and I took advantage of that. Luckily, since then I've been pretty healthy and it's just hard work and determination.”

“Everyone's got to be their own guy and has their own way of doing things,” Greene said. “Obviously, I had a lot of good guys to watch and follow throughout the years here and having coaches here too – Larry (Robinson) just watching him and Scotty (Stevens) and Marty (Brodeur). They all brought little different things to the table and you try to pick their minds a little bit. I think the important thing is to be yourself. It's gotten you this far and I'll continue to do that.”

It's evident Greene has the support of his teammates, the coaching staff and management. The coaches and GM Ray Shero were already leaning toward picking him as the captain and that was confirmed by a vote of the players.

Head coach John Hynes said the choice was “clear cut.”



Veteran? Check.
Steady on both sides of the ice? Check.
Career Devil? Check.
The most important player in the strongest area of the lineup? Check.

There is nothing, and I mean nothing, to hate about this move. In my opinion I think Andy Greene was the only choice to lead this team into a new era. You can make jokes that the Devils constantly have defensive captains, but this organization's success is predicated on it's ability to keep pucks out of their net. It was when Lou Lamoriello was here, and it still is with a team that has a great goaltender and a wealth of talent on the blue line. A wealth of talent that has a lot of learning to do from the most tenured member of that group, Andy Greene. Not only is he signed to a long term deal (fuck you Zach), but he knows what it takes to succeed in this league. As a matter of fact, he knows from his own personal experience, because during his first few years in the league it was debatable whether or not he had what it took to stick. He has done much to shed those doubts over the years, and he's actually developed into one of the most underrated defenseman in the league. He's not going to wow you, by any means, but he's a solid two way player that does the things necessary to win. 

I'm not going to tell that the Devils had all that many formidable choices to pick from. Zajac has underachieved and seems too soft spoken. Henrique is still very young and coming into his own as a player. Cammalleri has only been here for a year, and I am pretty sure Lou Lamoriello would have a stroke if a player wearing the number 13 was leading the Devils. Elias would rather not even wear his own name on his back of his jersey than have to wear a 'C' on the front. Greene was really the only player for the job, and the Devils could definitely do worse as far as leadership goes. This is a young team that is only going to get younger going forward. An older presence, that has overcome adversity, and is still at the top of his game is the perfect player to lead this team by example. I think so, the players think so, and the coaches think so. Time to twerk...I mean...tweak some expectations...