Nostalgia seems to be in the air during NHL trade deadline eve. After Ilya Kovalchuk was traded to Washington, the Detroit Red Wings sent defenseman Mike Green to the Edmonton Oilers in a trade on Sunday.
To the Oilers: Mike Green
To the Red Wings: “A conditional pick in 2020 or 2021" plus Kyle Brodziak. Red Wings retain 50 percent of Green’s $5.375M salary.
MORE: PHT’s Trade deadline live blog
Sportsnet’s Mark Spector reports the salary retention, and also the conditions of that pick:
Assessing the Mike Green trade for both teams
Overall, this seems like a no-brainer for the Red Wings. They need to stockpile picks, so getting a fourth that could become a third -- especially in 2020 -- is pretty nifty. That’s especially true because, frankly, Green’s perceived value has never been lower.
So far in 2019-20, the 34-year-old only has three goals and 11 points in 48 games.
That’s a far cry from his days as a near-Norris-winning high-scorer. If the knocks on Green’s game were unfair back then, they feel more accurate now. Consider, for instance, his poor showings by Evolving Hockey’s RAPM Charts:
He’s very limited overall, but as a specialist who can potentially boost the Oilers’ offense? That makes him more interesting. There’s no denying that Ken Holland approves of Green’s game, being that he was his GM in Detroit and now Edmonton.
What do you make of the Oilers’ decision to trade for Mike Green? Was the price right or a little too rich? Again, I think Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman did very nicely with this one.
The Athletic’s Jonathan Willis is very much plugged into what the Oilers need, and he provided pretty effusive praise. At worst, it’s not much of an investment for Edmonton, although I’d still argue it’s solid work by Detroit.
This was a pretty good puck-moving defence for the Oilers tonight; Dave Tippett praised both Bear and Jones post-game.
— Jonathan Willis (@JonathanWillis) February 24, 2020
Add a healthy Klefbom and then Green to the mix and this might be the best passing D Edmonton has iced in ages.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.