NHL Trade Rumor: Capitals Trading Mike Green?

According to various reports, the Washington Capitals are willing to move defenseman Mike Green by the trade deadline if they cannot re-sign him to a contract extension. Green is in the final year of a contract that carries a cap hit of just a shade under $6.1 million.

While it’s not surprising the Capitals won’t be able to re-sign Green to an extension as he’ll probably seek a long-term deal in excess of $6 million annually, it is surprising that they’d trade Green prior to the deadline. In fact, it’d be downright foolish if they aren’t able to acquire a player that can help them win this season in return for Mike Green.

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The Capitals currently hold the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 25-15-10 record. While there is still plenty of season left to play, the Capitals are eight points clear of their closest competition to that spot and are closer to first in the Metropolitan Division than they are from ninth place. Suffice to say that barring a major collapse, the Capitals will be in the playoffs come April.

Which makes the thought of moving Mike Green at this point ignorant. Yes, he’s moved down the defensive depth chart this season with the acquisitions of Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik. However, he’s still logging over 19 minutes a game and has racked up 31 points (5 goals, 26 assists) in 42 games played this season. He’s still a dangerous weapon on the power play and his 11 power play points is good for 17th in the league amongst defensemen, all but one who has played more games than Green. Come playoff time when special teams become magnified, wouldn’t you feel more comfortable with a defenseman like Mike Green on your blue line?

The report suggests that the Capitals are worried they’ll lose Green for nothing if they don’t trade him prior to the March 2nd deadline. But with the most likely destination another playoff team who would use a rental defenseman (perhaps Montreal?), it’d be difficult for the Capitals to pry a roster player off the other team and someone who can be an immediate help. So in essence the Capitals would be weakening their team while strengthening another team, quite possibly someone they’d meet in the playoffs. Again, someone help me with the logic here, especially in the Eastern Conference where there is no favorite and you can make a compelling case for all eight teams currently in a playoff spot to earn a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals?

I understand the rationale that in a salary-capped world, you need to continue to replenish your farm system with prospects and draft picks because you simply cannot pay everyone come free agency. So yes, there is a potential long-term benefit to trading Mike Green now, but is it worth the cost of sabotaging your season? Not in this writer’s eyes.

In recent years many teams and fans have become more knowledgeable about the salary cap situation and the need to maximize “assets.” To some, Mike Green is just another asset that needs to be flipped now to acquire more assets. If they don’t trade him within the next month, they’ve wasted Green as an asset and will have nothing to show for it. Well, except for a potentially extended playoff run, and at the end of the day, isn’t that what it’s all about?

The Capitals have a legitimate shot to make some noise this spring. With Barry Trotz at the helm, the team’s defense is playing at a level it hasn’t played at in ages. They are allowing the eighth fewest goals a game in the league and 12th fewest shots per game. Braden Holtby has played at an all-star level with a 2.22 goals against average and .923 save percentage (both top-10 in the league among qualified goaltenders). Oh, and they have a pretty decent goal scorer in Alex Ovechkin up front. To say that this team isn’t dangerous is naive.

Which is why the Capitals need to bite the bullet and accept the fact that even if Mike Green can’t be re-signed, the value he brings to the current team now and in the playoffs is something they can’t be without if they plan on sticking around a while this spring. Don’t be stupid Washington and trade him now.

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