Green ready to soak in all-star experience for Red Wings

DETROIT --Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Green is so eager for the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend in Tampa, he has ordered a jersey. It has his name: "GREEN." It has his number: "25." It's size … well, tiny.
It's for his son, Axel, who is almost 2 and increasingly aware of what Daddy does. Axel speaks words like "hockey," "stick" and "score." At Axel's age, what else do you need? At Mike's age, what more could you want?

"We had him here the other day for a practice," said Green, 32, with a little smile. "My wife Courtney]*
They don't come around every year.
In 2007-08, Green broke out with the Washington Capitals. He had 56 points (18 goals, 38 assists) in 82 games and finished seventh in the voting for the Norris Trophy. But he didn't go to the All-Star Game.
In 2008-09, he had 73 points (31 goals, 42 assists) in 68 games and was runner-up for the Norris to Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins. He was a first-team All-Star after the season, but he didn't go to the All-Star Game.
In 2009-10, he had a career-high 76 points (19 goals, 57 assists) in 75 games and was runner-up for the Norris, this time to Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks. He was a first-team All-Star after the season. But there was no All-Star Game because of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Finally, in 2010-11, he got to go. He was a Team Staal alternate captain and had two assists in a 11-10 loss to Team Lidstrom at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was 25 and single.
"It was obviously my first one, so I think the biggest thing that I took from it was just being around the other guys and being able to get to know some of them, and then just seeing how laid-back and enjoyable it was," Green said. "It is a lot of fun."
This will be his first All-Star Game since.
Green has not produced like he did at his peak for a number of reasons, including the Capitals' shift away from a run-and-gun style, but has remained smart and skilled. He signed a three-year contract with the Red Wings as a free agent on July 1, 2015.
"He's a very mobile, smooth-skating, puck-moving defenseman," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "Those players are really important in today's game.
"He's gifted with a great pair of wheels, so he can get back and he can get turned and look up ice. He can transport it, he can snap a pass to get it transitioned to offense, and he can join the rush."
Green made sure to maintain his pair of wheels last summer. He took power skating for the first time, working on edges and pivoting with Steve Serdachny at home in Calgary. It helped him turn and go in one motion.
"As you get older, you notice how fast these young guys really are," Green said. "I didn't feel like I was falling behind, but I felt like I could give more. … I think that really helped. Sometimes it takes you a month or so to get into the mode. I was ready to go, I felt like, right away."

Green had four assists in his first game this season, the inaugural game at Little Caesars Arena, a 4-2 victory against the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 5. That propelled him to 17 points (one goal, 16 assists) in his first 19 games.
That propelled him to the All-Star Game, a 3-on-3 tournament in which each NHL team must be represented and each division has three slots on defense. When rosters were announced Jan. 10, he had 24 points (four goals, 20 assists) in 41 games, fifth among defensemen in the Atlantic.
He has 26 points (five goals, 21 assists) in 47 games and averages 22:37 of ice time, more than two minutes more than any other Detroit skater.
"He's been obviously our best defenseman," Holland said.
It remains to be seen what will happen before the NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 26, with Green a pending unrestricted free agent and the Red Wings nine points out of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
For now, it's time to enjoy Tampa.
"It means a lot," Green said. "I'm more excited to have my son there, really, for him to experience it."
The guy with the great pair of wheels has an Axel.