Vic Rattlehead18 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Maybe I see something in Greene that few do? He has been put on the point during powerplays and has played it as well as anyone else (Salmela started off with a terrible shot but got better before being sent down). He had a good chance the other night driving to the net but didn't get a shot away. You also have to consider who he's paired with. Now I love Oduya, I defended him last season when he was playing bad just as I do with Greene now. But he's not AS good as when he is paired with Martin. Same can be said about Greene. Look who he's paired with...Salvador. I don't like Salvador at all. I don't think he proved anything yet. He plays the body, sure. But mostly borderline penalty, and is out of position most on the team (and it shows with the lowest +/- of our 6 Dmen). Though I'd rather him than Brookbank anyday. On a side note: Anyone notice how far the helmet comes out over Salvadors forhead? Just makes me laugh a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adavid Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Here are my favorite Greene moments: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 (edited) Maybe I see something in Greene that few do? He has been put on the point during powerplays and has played it as well as anyone else (Salmela started off with a terrible shot but got better before being sent down). He had a good chance the other night driving to the net but didn't get a shot away. You also have to consider who he's paired with. Now I love Oduya, I defended him last season when he was playing bad just as I do with Greene now. But he's not AS good as when he is paired with Martin. Same can be said about Greene. Look who he's paired with...Salvador. I don't like Salvador at all. I don't think he proved anything yet. He plays the body, sure. But mostly borderline penalty, and is out of position most on the team (and it shows with the lowest +/- of our 6 Dmen). Though I'd rather him than Brookbank anyday.On a side note: Anyone notice how far the helmet comes out over Salvadors forhead? Just makes me laugh a bit. So Salvador who has been a surefire NHL starter for 8 years is pulling down Greene, who has never been more than a borderline 6/7 defenseman so far in his career? 8 solid NHL years doesn't prove anything for Salvador but 100 games of mostly garbage shows Greene is getting the job done? Nobody gets beat more physically or is out of position more often than Greene while Salvador is a good positional defenseman. Andy Greene has been playing himself out of the lineup pretty much every moment this season and last except for that 5 game stretch earlier this year. I defended Oduya last year as well because you could physically see the tools he could bring to a game. I don't know if Greene has enough tools to play. Greene's gear has to play at a much higher level to make up for his lack of physical skills and it's 100 games into his NHL career and I haven't seen him get quicker at his thought process still. If Greene was getting smarter along the boards that would be enough to be encouraged but he is still being abused there as he was on game 1. Greene may have played the point as well as anybody else but that doesn't mean he has played it well. Salvador, who plays no PP time, has the same goal ratio that Greene has. That isn't great. You take away a few games where Greene got a bunch of secondary assists and his season turns into bad defense and few meaningful offensive plays to balance it out. If the Devils have to live with poor defense and bad physicality they'd be better off with Salmela on the team but I can understand the team wanting to give Greene a chance to turn it around since he's an upcoming free agent. Edited January 18, 2009 by Devils731 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouse Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I repeat: there would be no need to trash Greene if he was a consistently solid performer. I remember many people ripping on Oduya when he first got here too. Guess what: Oduya has actually IMPROVED year over year and become a very servicable top 4 defenseman who brings a solid game to the table on a consistent basis. And, not coincidentally, we view Oduya as an asset and someone who should be re-signed to a somewhat lucrative contract. If Greene showed Oduya's year to year improvement, no one would say boo. Of that I assure you. Greene was most consistent in 2007 when he got the most playing time. Last year he got benched too often (not defending his play, but Rachunek and Vish were worse). This year he got hurt. That excuse is wearing thin, or completely dead by now, but imo he has looked better since the road trip started, so hopefully he picks it up for the rest of the season. If not, Salmela could replace him -- he wasn't terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevilinLA Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Salmela seems to have be the only Defenseman who any of our opponents have feared on the point. Martin occasionally, but I think most teams know that we have no accurate shots from our D-men. For the record, other than the 5 -game fluke, I think Brookbank has done more for this team than Andy Greene....at least he brings some snarl and muscle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Salmela seems to have be the only Defenseman who any of our opponents have feared on the point.Martin occasionally, but I think most teams know that we have no accurate shots from our D-men. For the record, other than the 5 -game fluke, I think Brookbank has done more for this team than Andy Greene....at least he brings some snarl and muscle. geez can anyone discuss this guy without hyperbole? brookbank was a nice experiment but he can't be a defenseman in the NHL. salmela played okay but was prone to awful giveaways. greene has been a little shaky along the boards and in terms of his positioning but his errors are nowhere near the other two, either in terms of frequency or impact on the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevilinLA Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 geez can anyone discuss this guy without hyperbole? brookbank was a nice experiment but he can't be a defenseman in the NHL. salmela played okay but was prone to awful giveaways. greene has been a little shaky along the boards and in terms of his positioning but his errors are nowhere near the other two, either in terms of frequency or impact on the team. And neither are his contributions ....give Salmela the same amount of time Greene has to show improvement and he could be easily performing as well, if not better by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bringbackbrylin Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 you are reading a source which claimed eilias and gionta were headed to vancouver last summer and that the devils were also gonna get jagr from Russia just days before shanahan signed yet that was never rumored. 13 sources have told me this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils Pride 26 Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 And neither are his contributions ....give Salmela the same amount of time Greene has to show improvement and he could be easily performing as well, if not better by now. I think they are keeping Salmela in Lowell because they see something in him. At this point, the difference between Greene and Salmela is marginal at best. Salmela could have a real future with this team so why rush it. Keeping him in Lowell will allow him to correct his errors in his own end we saw when he was up here, while also growing as a PP QB. Don't rush Salmela, the kid needs some nurturing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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