Andy Greene

The game Andy Greene had circled on his calendar never came, at least not on time anyway.
March 21, 2020 was originally the day that the New York Islanders defenseman was scheduled to face off against his former team, the New Jersey Devils, for the first time since being dealt to Long Island ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 16, 2020. And March 21 would have been the former Devils' captain's first visit back to the very building that he had called home for 14 seasons - and captained for five.

But those plans were muddled, in what became a universal aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak last spring. Instead, the NHL issued a season pause on March 12 and shifted the Stanley Cup Playoffs to run from late July through early September. An entire postseason and offseason later, it'll be nearly a full-calendar year since the trade to the Islanders for Greene to finally go head-to-head against the only team that he had ever played professionally for prior.

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      Practice 1/20: Andy Greene

      Now, he'll be able to check off both of the monumental meetings following a home-and-home set against New Jersey. Thursday night at Nassau Coliseum, Greene will skate against his former club for the first time sporting a different crest and then, three days later, he and the Islanders will travel into Newark for their Sunday night matchup at Prudential Center.
      It's a prolonged pair of firsts that are much-anticipated for the 38-year-old.
      "I've always seen other players play against their former teams," Greene said on Wednesday afternoon via Zoom. "[For] me, it's the first time doing this. It's going to be strange. It'll be weird. It'll be strange seeing some of those guys that I have a really good relationship with. Once the puck drops and you get through the first shift there it'll be hockey as usual, but it'll be my first time going through it. It's obviously different with no fans either, so it'll be different."
      Greene has nothing but fond and appreciative memories of playing with the Devils. After all, New Jersey was the organization that signed the undrafted free agent following his four years of playing Division I college hockey at Miami-University Ohio. Current Islanders President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello was the Devils GM who signed Greene to his entry-level deal. New Jersey became his home; the place where he matured professionally and personally. It's the place where he suited up for 923-career games and 50 playoff games, where he eventually started and began to raise a family with his two sons Colton and Maddox and where he was eventually named the captain of the organization in 2015 before he embarked upon his new chapter with the Islanders.
      "I can't be more thankful for the Devils organization from top-to-bottom," Greene said. "Every single person there was a great person. People that you develop friendships with and relationships with over the years. Nothing but positive experiences there."

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          Practice 1/20: Cory Schneider

          For Greene, the transition since becoming an Islander has been seamless and now, he won't be the only familiar face opposing the Devils on Thursday and Sunday. Goaltender Cory Schneider, who agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Islanders on Jan. 14, will also be in the building for the games against his former team, even if he doesn't wind up taking the ice.
          Schneider, who is 34-years-old, spent seven of his 12 years in the NHL in New Jersey. Like Greene, Schneider has nothing but affection for his former club and is of course looking forward to seeing old teammates and coaches. Also like Greene, Schneider is focused on his current opportunity with the Islanders.
          "It's never easy to say goodbye to people you've been with for so long, teammates, staff, other people you meet along the way," Schneider said on Wednesday. "That was unfortunate. Things happen, it's part of the game and sometimes change is good. I'm excited to be here and be with these guys."
          While Head Coach Barry Trotz can't relate to the feelings that Greene and Schneider are processing as a player, it's a situation the veteran coach has endured twice in his NHL coaching career. Once after his facing his former team and the first job he had in the NHL in Nashville, where he spent 15 years and the second time, facing the Washington Capitals for the first time, where he had guided the team to its and his first-ever Stanley Cup win.

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              Practice 1/20: Barry Trotz

              On Wednesday, Trotz offered his own advice on the situation Greene and Schneider will face, but he trusts the veteran players and knows that when the puck drops all that will matter is the unfolding action between the Islanders and Devils who will both be vying for an important victory.
              "His fingerprints are all over that organization over the last number of years," Trotz said of Greene. "He'll have a lot of good memories. It's just focusing on that they are an opponent for a day. It's probably going to seem strange. It was strange for me going into Nashville after coaching there for 15 years and then coming back when I was coaching Washington. Just seeing that jersey, but you're on the other bench. Guys handle it differently; some guys have great success with it and some guys don't have much success with it. It's all individual-based. That's one thing I do know through experiences, is every experience is a little bit different for everybody."