There is Only One "52"

Mike Green was the not the first defenseman taken in the 2004 entry draft.  He was not even the first defenseman taken in that draft by the Washington Capitals.  Green, who was the third-ranked North American defenseman in the NHL Central Scouting rankings, was the 29^th overall pick and eighth defenseman taken in that draft, two spots behind  Jeff Schultz, taken by the Caps at 27^th overall.

Eleven years later, Green is arguably the best defenseman of his 2004 class.  He is at or near the top in most statistical categories:

• Games played: 575 (3^rd)
• Goals: 113 (1^st)
• Goals-per-game: 0.20 (1^st)
• Assists: 247 (2^nd)
• Points: 360 (2^nd)
• Points-per-game: 0.63 (1^st)
• Plus-minus: plus-58 (1^st)

Only once in ten seasons has his Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 been under 50 percent (49.4 in 2011-2012), and he has a cumulative 54.0 percent over that period; only once in ten seasons has his Corsi-for/relative been less that plus-1.1 (minus-1.2 in 2012-2013; numbers from war-on-ice.com).  Twice finishing second in Norris Trophy voting as top defenseman, twice a first team NHL all-star, Green is the most accomplished defenseman of his class.

Now, with ten years of NHL experience with the Capitals, Green appears destined to don another sweater for the next phase of his career.  As an unrestricted free agent, the arithmetic is unsympathetic to a renewal of the relationship between Green and Washington.  More than most that have come and gone in the history of the franchise, Green will leave memories.  There is the “Game Over Green” persona, the player who recorded 22 regular season and playoff game-winning goals, nine of them in overtime.  There is the player who over the last eight seasons has more seasons with ten or more goals (five) than any full-time defenseman except  Shea Weber (six).  There is the defenseman who has the only season with 30 or more goals scored since 1992-1993, the 2008-2009 season in which he set a record for consecutive games with a goal scored by a defenseman (eight).

But Green has been more than his statistics in Washington.  He has been one of the most memorable players in the club’s history…

He was one of those fresh-faced teenagers full of promise on draft day 2004...

...then went on to become a Calder Cup champion with the Hershey Bears in 2006...

...but he helped get there by imprinting a unique style in his pre-game warm-up routine...

His climb up the development ladder was sure and steady...

...eventually becoming one of the premier offensive defensemen in the league and an all star...

Although he would twice be a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman, he had his detractors who belittled his defense.  But Green kept plugging along...

...and it did not keep him from being a record-setter...

Injuries had begun to take their toll on Green's game...

...but in working through them, he also grew into a better two-way defenseman, although not without their slips along the way...

And, it did not keep him from being a sportsman whose gentlemanly play deserved notice...

As much as his presence on the ice, Green was a presence off it as well, a player of style...

...as sharp off the ice as on it...

Mike Green came to the Caps as an unknown, became one of the "Young Guns," and grew into one of the best defensemen in the history of a franchise in which such a thing is no small honor.  It appears, sadly, that his stay with the Capitals is at an end.  It will be a decade not soon forgotten.  And no matter where his travels take him, Mike Green -- the only player to wear number "52" in team history -- will occupy a special place in the memory of Caps fans...