INSIDER: Kings defensemen talk Matt Greene & his impact in early days behind the bench

The last time the LA Kings played a game in Boston that ended in regulation came on December 18, 2016.

It was, you might say, a typical LA Kings hockey game, a low-scoring affair decided by one goal. Anze Kopitar played in that game. As did Drew Doughty. As did Matt Greene.

Assistant Coach Matt Greene?

Sure thing.

That was Greene’s final season in the NHL. When the Kings and Bruins squared off on Tuesday, extending their overtime streak in Boston, Greene was involved once again, his first game at TD Garden as an Assistant Coach, as a part of the new-look Kings coaching staff.

The similarities of the low-scoring affairs is certainly something you’d align with how Greene played the game. He was never a goalscorer, with 17 across his 615 regular-season games in the NHL, but he never tried to be. The defensive zone was where he thrived and those who played with him knew exactly what he meant to the winningest teams in Kings history.

“Lots of intensity, first and foremost,” Kopitar said. “Obviously as a player, he was a big part of winning teams and he brings that experience. I think just his presence around here will help the younger guys too. Looking forward to having him around more and see where that takes us.”

That word, intensity, is one that came up a lot.

It’s something Greene has been known for over the years. He was an alternate captain on the Stanley Cup teams and that letter came with merit. Kopitar, Doughty and forward Adrian Kempe are the last remaining players who were teammates with Greene as a player. Kempe used the words “aura and presence” to describe who Greene was as a veteran, when he joined the team as a rookie.

For the Kopitar and Doughty in particular, the way that Greene approached the game is something that still makes its way around the Kings locker room all these years later.

“His competitiveness, that’s something that Kopi and Dewey still talk about to this day, is how competitive he was and how vocal he was in the locker room,” defenseman Brandt Clarke said. “Being able to talk to him, pick his brain on situations and have him show me how he would have played a situation, it’s been really helpful.”

Clarke and Greene have worked together essentially since the day he was drafted.

Clarke said he recently scrolled all the way back in their text history and found a message from Greene on the day the Kings drafted him in 2021, welcoming him to the organization. It’s a relationship that has only grown and built from there. As Clarke developed through the ranks, first in Barrie in the OHL and then onto the AHL’s Ontario Reign, he worked routinely with Greene on various areas of his game and of his development.

“For the defense in particular, he was the main guy for player development, so when I was with Barrie or with Ontario, I’d be talking to him in particular a lot,” Clarke detailed. “He’d send me some stuff, even when I was playing with Barrie, he’d still be watching, he’d text me the next morning on how I did, plays I made and stuff like that. He’s been with me right since basically the day I was drafted. So, to have him out here and behind the bench, just a familiar voice, especially for me, it’s nice.”

What’s interesting is, you really couldn’t build two more opposite defensemen than Greene and Clarke. Greene collected a career-high 15 points during the 2011-12 season. Clarke had 15 points within his first 22 games played of his first full season in the NHL. One a defensive slalwart, one a puck-mover who generates offense. But perhaps that’s why they made such a good pair.

Greene didn’t try to change the things Clarke excelled at, but he certainly had a lot of experience in the things that Clarke needed to work on to become a more rounded NHL defenseman.

“I think I can appreciate it because he was so successful in his time, winning two cups and he was such a rock back there,” Clarke added. “Just hearing from him and just seeing how he influenced the game, from his standpoint, is definitely something I wanted to incorporate into my game as much as I could. Being able to talk to him, pick his brain on situations like that’ and have him show me how he would have played a situation, it’s been really helpful.”

In talking with defenseman Jacob Moverare, he was another pupil of the Kings player development program, as he worked his way from a mid-round draft pick to someone who earned a one-way NHL contract.

Moverare said that Greene always focused on the little details in someone’s game. He would identify an area that perhaps got a little bit rusty or sloppy and be proactive in addressing it. It might be something as simple as how you box out in front. Professional defensemen know how to box out in front, but Greene brought things to the table that made you think about it a bit. That carried weight.

“He’s an unbelievable competitor and he wants guys to get better,” Moverare said. “He’s been huge in my development. It’s like, I feel like I know how to box out, but he still comes with great tips that are great points, that I never thought about. It’s always fine tuning the small details and he’s helped me a lot with that. I knew right away that he wants to help with small details, even though it’s stuff that a lot of guys are comfortable with.”

So how does all of that translate to coaching?

It’s certainly different.

Player development isn’t really about wins and losses. In a practice setting or a development skate, players are encouraged to make mistakes to get things right. You might be able to do something five times to get it down. In the NHL, you get one shot and as a defenseman, often times making a mistake on that one shot means the puck is in the back of your net.

So it’s different, certainly.

But Kings defensemen have already noticed the person that he was as a member of development team, the person he’s always been, nicely integrating into his role as a coach.

“He’s intense and he takes a lot of pride in defending and being part of a team, so I think he’s adding good energy, a different voice,” defenseman Mikey Anderson said of Greene. “Sometimes just having a different voice can change the way guys see certain situations, even if it’s still going on the same. I think he’s going to be great. I think guys are excited to have him and are ready to keep things going.”

The other thing that has helped Greene settle in is that Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith had recently started engaging with Greene as it pertained to the Kings penalty kill, which has struggled to replicate last season’s form.

Before the Olympic break, Smith invited Greene to sit in on penalty kill meetings to observe, learn and offer input as needed. He was on the ice a couple of times working with the defensemen who kill penalties, which was rare to see at the NHL level for someone in player development. It was an area of improvement and the Kings went that route. Most recently, against the Bruins, the Kings posted a 4-of-4 showing, delivering one of their best PK games of the season. Smith said we saw the Kings make some tweaks to the system and while they’re not yet perfect, it was noticeably good against the Bruins.

While his involvement was well before the recent shuffling with the coaching staff, it means that Greene is an even more familiar face for those who play defense for the Kings. Only helps, as everyone adjusts to the transition.

“He’s not a new face, we’ve seen him around the rink a lot, he’s a big piece of this organization, so he’s familiar with everybody on our team,” defenseman Joel Edmundson added. “I think he just brings that intensity to the back end, he just wants us to work hard and to make those hard plays. He did it in his career for many years, so he expects that. I think that’s the biggest thing, just the intensity.”

That familiarity is important, as Greene transitions from working with prospects to NHL veterans.

Not everyone could come in and command the room, but Greene has been able to do that in a short time, with a group of defensemen that have been around the block.

“When he talks, you listen,” defenseman Brian Dumoulin added. “He’s got such an authoritative voice but he doesn’t mince words, he’s very honest and open. I think he’s a great person and a great human being, obviously he’s done a lot for this organization, it’s awesome having him back there, he’s such a respected defenseman. I played against him, watched him play, so I’ve got nothing but respect for him.”

Now, the task for the Kings will be for all of those good things, the intensity and the respect, to translate into wins. The Kings have picked up a couple, which they were quick to highlight Greene for in the locker room, but there are important games to come.

Not a bad time to have a guy who has won quite a few important games in your corner.

The Kings are inside 20 games remaining in the regular season and they sit tied for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, missing out as of today via tiebreaker. As Greene continues to settle in behind the bench, he’s getting good games right now from many of his blueliners, some of which have really elevated their game over the last couple of weeks. They’ll need that, and more, to get where they want to go. A place where Greene will be quite at home, when the games matter most.