Re-signing with Islanders was Priority for Greene

It's been nearly a full-calendar year since the Islanders acquired Andy Greene from the New Jersey Devils. As warped as the time frame may seem since the pre-pandemic time of last February when the former captain of the Devils first became an Islander, it's been nothing but a seamless transition for him on and off the ice.

After stepping in for an injured Johnny Boychuk following Game 1 in the Qualifying Round against the Florida Panthers and dressing through the next 20 games of the Islanders' 2020 Eastern Conference Final run - where he played on his off-side for the majority of it - Greene wanted to return. During the offseason, the 38-year-old free-agent made Long Island his priority, and the feeling was mutual.
"I was pretty confident it was going to happen from early on," Greene said during his first media availability over Zoom since signing. "But you never know with how certain situations play out. Staying with the team, picking up where we left off and trying to take that ultimate step there was a big positive...It was a win-win situation to be able to come back here."

While it'll officially be one year since Greene's joined the organization on Feb. 16, 2021, he's only played in 11 regular-season games for the Islanders in 11 months, a true testament to the novelty and outrageousness of 2020.
Now
after agreeing to terms on a one-year deal with the Islanders
, Greene is looking forward to the opportunity to spend a full season - even an abbreviated 56-game one - playing on Long Island. The unusual circumstances of a division-only schedule means Greene will face his former club eight times over the course of this season.
"It's only been what 10 or 11 regular season games since I've been here? And it's been almost a calendar year," Greene said with a smile. "It's been crazy, but it's a great team. It's a great group of guys, very welcoming. Every day that you're around them, you get to feel a little bit more comfortable and see the different personalities. After the bubble, you knew who most of the personalities were. It's a great group."
For the Islanders, the continued addition of Greene to their blueline is a colossal bonus, especially after the losses to the d-core of Johnny Boychuk, whose career came to an end on Nov. 25, 2020 due to an eye injury suffered during the 2019-20 regular season, and Devon Toews, who was dealt on Oct. 12, 2020 to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for second-round selections in the 2021 and 2022 NHL Drafts.
"It was a big priority," Head Coach Barry Trotz said of Greene's return. "You obviously saw how he played in the playoffs. When you lose two veteran players, their skill sets are a little different, but they're two really big pieces to your backend. Johnny is such a good penalty killer, he's all in on that and he does all of the intangible stuff. Toews was the young developing defenseman who could join the attack. They had different elements, but those were two holes. Trying to emulate that, you have Andy Greene, who is a terrific penalty killer, a little bit more of a cerebral player than Johnny."

This season, Greene will be paired with 21-year-old Noah Dobson. While both Greene and Dobson will be taking on larger roles with the Islanders, and in some ways emulating some of the elements of Boychuk and Toews, their pairing in particular, has some meaningful substance to it.
Greene's nightly presence to the lineup will be constructive in the continuing evolution of Dobson's development especially as he absorbs more responsibility in his second season as a pro. For the rest of the d-core, Greene offers the kind of wisdom and perspective that can only be obtained through experience.
And after 14 seasons, 934-regular season games and 71-career playoff games in the NHL, it's safe to say Greene has earned a fair share of it.
"With Andy, what you see is what you get," Trotz said. "He's a confident, experienced guy, who carries himself very well. He's not an overly emotional guy. He has a calming effect. He's a great partner for a young guy like Noah Dobson. How he has been in the NHL as an under-the-radar top defenseman for a number of years, now, he's an older defenseman and he's still very good. He's smart, you get to learn [from him] and he doesn't get flustered. He's very good on the bench. He knows those moments when you need to settle things down or the d-core down. There's a reason why he's been a captain in this league. He's a really important piece for a backend that's grown."
In the dressing room, the rest of the team - and not just the Islanders' defensemen - have benefitted from Greene's contributions to their tight-knit dynamic. Throughout the now, 11 total regular season games and the 21 postseason games with the Islanders, Greene has showcased his steady, reliable play and risen to the occasion when the dire stakes demanded it.
Namely, in Game 7 of the Islanders Second-Round series against the Philadelphia Flyers, Greene scored the second goal of the Islanders' 4-0 methodical win that sent them to the ECF for the first time since 1993. He also scored the game-winner in Game 1 of the Islanders series against Philadelphia, where the team also handedly beat the Flyers 4-0. Greene finished the 2020 run with four points (2G, 2A) and a plus-two rating.

"It adds calmness and confidence," Cal Clutterbuck said of having Greene around. "He's been around, he's played in big moments and big games. He's seen it all. The leadership on this team goes up and down the lineup. It obviously starts with Anders [Lee], he's a phenomenal captain for us, he sets the standard. But I just think we've got a group of guys that have come up in that environment and they know what's expected of them. When you've got a whole bunch of guys through the lineup that have a presence that way it's a great thing."
While the Islanders backend is structured slightly different this season and has a relatively young split between Dobson, Adam Pelech (26), Ryan Pulock (26) and Leddy (29) and Scott Mayfield (28), the impression that Greene leaves on them will be one that extends to the next generation of Islanders blueliners.
For Greene, he gets the opportunity to continue competing with a determined team, who is highly motivated by 'falling short' in last season's Stanley Cup run. And for the Islanders, they'll relish in the meaningful impact that is imprinted by Greene on and off the ice.
Making it really a win-win situation.
"To have guys like Johnny Boychuk and Andy Greene and watch how they handle situations, and learn from those guys the last few years has been really good," Trotz said. "Now, guys like Noah Dobson, Sebastian Aho, Bode Wilde and these young defensemen that we have are learning from a guy like Andy. It's sort of passing the torch from Johnny to Andy to maybe the next guy will be [Pelech or Pulock]. Those guys will take it to the next level and take that leadership and learn all of those good details from those guys."