Thursday, February 15, 2007

It's Really Not Easy Being Green...

You all let me babble on about something pointless when something real was going on?

Shame on you.

We have official word now that someone has been sent down to Hershey...and it wasn't who I expected at all:

Capitals Assign Mike Green to Hershey

Yet looking at it from a logical perspective (and I know what you're thinking - me? Logical?) this does seem to make sense. For one thing, as Tarik points out, Green is on an entry-level contract - that means he can be called up and sent down ad nauseum without being subject to the waiver wire. That's one advantage over someone like Nycholat, who would have to clear waivers first. Clearly the Caps didn't think Larry could make it and decided not to risk putting him out there.

Looking at it from another angle, you have to think this is beneficial to Mike. I don't think it's a secret that his quality of play has diminished significantly over the last few months. As a result, he's finding himself with less than 15 minutes of work on average per night and has even been benched for the remainder of the game on several occasions for one reason or another. People say that other than goaltender, defense is the hardest and most technical position to learn, and Greenie is young yet - a little more time in the AHL, as disappointing as that may be for him right now, can only help him continue his development.

I don't know how permanent this move will be or who will follow with Erskine's return, although I'd be willing to bet that Schultz despite his solid play will be the next one returned to Hershey, also playing on an entry-level contract.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I agree on all counts. Nycholat has played too well for him to clear waivers -- not brilliant, but solid for sure -- while they don't risk losing Green by sending him down. Green's play has been both fantastic and awful, often in the same game. The talent is there but he needs more seasoning. Unfortunately, on this Caps team, he's being pressed into too many minutes. Giving him a little more time as the big fish in a smaller pond should help his development.