Oilers Acquire Mike Green from Red Wings

Late in Sunday night’s Oilers broadcast, it was announced that the Oilers have acquired Defenceman Mike Green, from the Detroit Red Wings, in exchange for Kyle Brodziak, and a conditional draft pick, per Sportsnet’s Mark Spector.

Spector also reports that Detroit will retain half of Green’s remaining salary. Green, 34, was one of the league’s premier defencemen, in his early to mid twenties, and is in the final year of a contract that pays him $5.375 Million, annually.

At this point, not much should be expected of Green. True, he was playing over 21 minutes a night in Detroit, but this year’s Red Wings team is historically inept, so don’t expect him to play nearly as big of a role is Edmonton.

Green will likely either be asked to play on the Oilers’ third pairing, or to sit in the press box as a seventh defenseman, who can fill in capably in the case of injury.

It should also be noted that, while the Oilers do sit second in the Pacific division, currently, their playoff berth is far from solidified. So, Green could help the team fill in for the currently injured Oscar Klefbom in the short term, and return to the press box if or when the Oilers are able to field an entirely healthy defence corps.

And, it’s not like Green is useless beyond being a warm body with big league experience. Green ranks second this year, among Red Wings blueliners in average Game Score. While that number would still rank last among qualified Oilers defenders, that stat is partially team-dependent, and it’s hard to judge lack of production on a team as lowly as the Red Wings too harshly. There may well still be some decent hockey left in Green, given the right situation.

Considering the Oilers’ short term need of defensive depth, and the practically non-existent pricetag accompanying Green (which only really turns into a noteworthy return for Detroit if the Oilers both use Green and succeed.) This seems like an astute, low-risk move by Holland.