Mike Green to Become Free Agent

As expected, the Washington Capitals are set to let defenseman Mike Green reach free agency on July 1, according to Elliotte Friedman.

WASH GM Brian MacLellan says he is trying to close with UFAs Jay Beagle and Eric Fehr. It is reported team and Joel Ward disagree on…

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 24, 2015

Term. MacLellan didn't want to say much about Mike Green, but it appears unlikely anything gets done before July 1

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 24, 2015

It was largely expected that Green would become a free agent. It was even speculated that the Capitals were shopping Green prior to the March 1 trade deadline.

The 29-year-old defenseman is coming off a three-year deal that paid him $6 million annually. It seems unlikely that Green gets that kind of money again, but with how the free agent market has been for defensemen has been in recent years, Green will probably get good money that the Capitals can’t afford to match (and maybe aren’t interested in matching) with both Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen making over $5 million and John Carlson making nearly $4 million.

Last season Green saw his role with Washington reduced. His average of 15.3 minutes of even strength ice time per game was the lowest he’s played since his rookie year. He averaged just 2.5 minutes on the power play, which was the lowest he’s ever played a signaled a large shift in the relationship in Washington. He’s been thought of as a power play specialist and a key piece of their offensive attack in other seasons.

Despite not being the 30-goal scorer he was when he was younger, he posted a 1.1 P/60 at even strength, which is the best scoring rate he’s had since the 2009-10 season. He also managed to be a positive relative possession player with a 1.1% CF%Rel on a improved team defensively.

Green will still get paid well and isn’t as far in decline as many have projected.

In addition, Friedman’s tweet notes that contract talks between the Capitals and forward Joel Ward haven’t made much progress due a likely disagreement on the term of the contract.

The team is also close to re-signing unrestricted free agents Jay Beagle and Eric Fehr.