Greene has taken the last few days in stride since the announcement of his one-day contract and ultimate retirement from the National Hockey League. He was on the golf course when the announcement was made on Wednesday, but it wasn't until he got to the third hole when his phone started buzzing in his pocket.
"My phone started blowing up in my pocket, and I was like they must have announced it," he quipped.
Greene has a unique connection to the past greats of the New Jersey Devils and to the new budding stars for the franchise. He's played with them both. Tonight he looked back fondly at players like Martin Brodeur, who was standing at the back of the room. The list was extensive of the players he was thinking about that he's played with along the way.
"Marty was not only a teammate, but a friend," Greene said, "and obviously all the other great guys that we played with, Patty Elias, Travis (Zajac), you go down the line, and then Dano he's still around all the time, Scotty Stevens. Just be able to learn from those guys and day in and day out, pick their brains, and just see what made them great and what made this organization great."
To the players on the ice tonight, Greene holds an important connection too, for many of the young players, Greene was their first-ever NHL captain. He hopes in some way he has made an impact on this next wave of players. What he wants them to know?
"Believe in each other," he said, "You know, you're stronger as a group, not individually, and do your job. I mean, it really is. Don't be someone you're not, you know, be and play the role that you're expected to play. It's amazing when teams come together, they do that, they back each other up and they play for each other. It's a special time and it's a special thing that can happen and it's just, learn from your past mistakes and leave them there."
For now, Greene has said that he's going to take some time to be with his family, his two sons are in a mites program, learning the game. As for his next career move, there will be opportunities to rejoin the Devils in some capacity, but Greene hasn't decided what that looks like for him yet.
"For now, it's just picking what avenue I want to go down," Greene said, "Is it coaching, player development, is it management or is it you know, just kind of being around the family for now and then kind of zoning in one of those areas and seeing what fits best for me and for my family."
Whatever Greene ends up doing, one thing is for sure. He will put his everything into it. That's how he played for the Devils from day one and he likely knows no other way.
