The New Jersey Devils has signed defenseman Andy Greene to a long term contract to extend the player to the team. The details of the contract were not divulged. But it has been reported that Greene has signed a five year contract with the Devils worth $25 million.
The left shooter still had one more year left under his contract. He has been with the Devils since 2006 and it seems like he has no plans of jumping ship.
According to the Devils President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello "No question, it was important for us to have Andy with us long term. ''Everyone knows how much Andy means to our organization. He's our top defender. He carries the most time on the ice. He's on the ice for power play, penalty killing. We have to find ways to get him off the ice. That's how important he is. And he's a quiet leader, the way he handles the young defensemen. He's a pure Devil. We're the only team he's been with."
Both Lamoriello and Greene wanted to sign a new deal before Greene gets into free agency, though Greene does not have any plans in transferring. He said "It never really entered my mind. had one year left. After the season, Lou and I sat down and this is exactly what I wanted. I came in as a Devil and I'm fortunate to continue my career as a Devil."
Lamoriello sees Greene a s a key player for his team and that his flexibility inside the rink is an advantage for the Devils. He said "Andy has evolved into an all-situation player and that's a tremendous compliment because there are very few in the League that you can say are all-situation players. He can also play both left and right, depending on what is asked of him."
He continued "Andy comes to the rink, does his job day in and day out, and never takes a practice off, never looks left or right, and is always focused on what he's doing. To me, that's a top-flight defenseman."
Greene played in all 82 regular-season games last season, with a career-high of eight goals and adding 24 assists but the Devils missed the playoff. He has 28 goals and 121 assists in his NHL career.
