They Called Him Mr Glass: The Mike Green Injury Conundrum

In last night's win over the Ottawa Senators, Mike Green took a scary knee on knee hit from home team Ottawa's Chris Phillips (take a look at the hit here), renewing fans' fears of a repeat in his oft injured status the past few seasons. Green took a trip to the locker room, but thankfully found himself back on the ice a few short shifts later. (No penalty, by the way, because Canada).

Washington fans have good reason to hold their breath when Green takes hits like the one he endured last night. The 2011-2012 campaign was discouraging for Green, having suffered a groin injury and missing nearly the entire season resulting in sports hernia surgery at the conclusion of the season. In fact, Green had only participated in 81 regular season games through 2012. From the 2013-2014 season on, Green has suffered five additional injuries ranging from lower to upper body (including at least one confirmed concussion). These injuries have been harrowing for the former two-time Norris trophy finalist, and they haunted him earlier this season as well after enduring yet another huge hit whilst facing the Buffalo Sabres in November that sidelined him for 7 games.

Green vs Boston Bruins, 2014 c/o Sticks and Stars.

The effect of Green's injury history on his value has been of some debate lately, as hockey internet has provided many a "hot take" regarding trade speculation over the offensive-minded defenseman. It is conventional wisdom that a player with a history of injury, coupled with hundreds of man-hours missed, can likely fetch much less in the market, but what the Capitals have done with Green to potentially mitigate loss of value is interesting.

Instead of throwing him right back into a top 2 role this season, thus forcing big minutes on him, they have successfully maximized his efforts by keeping him in limited minutes on the third pairing with Jack Hillen (the top 4 being John Carlson-Brooks Orpik and Karl Alzner- Matt Niskanen, respectively). Green still serves as the point man on the team's first power play unit, showing off his skill by setting up Alex Ovechkin's wheel house with great ease, and faking shots to move players out of position. His much more limited role has easily increased his value, as it shows that he can still perform, but just how much remains to be seen.

But the questions still linger as to how long his health will hold up. If last night's scare is a testament to anything, it's that his murky injury history still lurks in the minds of Capitals fans. And if it resides there, it surely does in the minds of General Managers and talent scouts NHL-wide. If and when Green is moved will continue to be fodder for prognosticators up to the March 2nd trade deadline.