Defenseman Mike Green declines Washington Capitals qualifying offer -NHL Update
Washington Capitals might be on the verge of losing another high rated player as defenseman Mike Green reportedly had turned down the team’s qualifying offer in need of a long term contract.
For the Washington Capitals, giving Green a one-year contract extension seemed to be enough to test whether the player could handle another season seeing his health issues which limited him to just 32 games during the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL)
regular season.
According to the reports, he had until 5 pm to accept or reject the offer and went with the latter, but is still believed to be in talks with the Capitals management over the issue.
Green’s four-year, $21 million contract came to an end on July 1st earlier this month and made him a restricted free agent. Not going ahead with talks would mean that Green will be available to be picked up in the free agency market, but due to
health problems, teams might hesitate signing him on for long.
"I think we've had healthy discussions with both players and there are deals to be made there," Washington general manager, George McPhee, told CSNWashington.com. "I think that's something we'll get done sooner than later and they will be deals we can live
with and they can live with."
Green has been dealing with concussion related issues for the past couple of years now as he played in just 49 games during 2010-2011 and put up 24 points (8 goals, 16 assists). In 2011-2012, the defender registered seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 32
games.
Seeing McPhee’s situation, it is easy to assess why the GM is looking to sign on the player for just a year, but the player obviously wants to stay with the Capitals for a longer period of time.
Newly appointed Washington Capitals head coach, Adam Oates, is also in favour of keeping Mike Green on the team as he believes the defenseman has a unique style and is beneficial for the club.
"I used Mike's footage the last couple years in New Jersey showing the D how to corral the puck, move a puck and have the poise back there," Oates said.
Washington was believed to offer a one-year, $5 million contract to Green, but after the rejection, there is no telling where this might lead the player.
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