Green

Just as I wrote earlier, the Norris Trophy war is on, and although Mike Milbury and a number of writers have come out publicly in favor of Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara, today the three major columnists from Sportsnet.ca have unanimously put their support in Washington blueliner Mike Green’s camp.

Mike Brophy, Jim Kelley and Mark Spector, who voted 2-1 for Tim Thomas for Vezina and 2-1 for Claude Julien for the Jack Adams, all tabbed Green in their awards column.

Brophy writes: “You say it’s excitement you want? Well, they don’t come much more exciting than Washington defenseman Mike Green. A throwback to an era when defenseman often joined the rush and then stuck around to see if any scoring chances popped up, Green had 28 goals through 62 games and was on pace for 31.”

He then concludes: “Green leads all defenders with 67 points (through March 31) and if you think his game is all about offense, think again. His plus-24 ranks sixth among defencemen, proving he is not a one-way performer.”

The only mention of Chara in the three writers’ explanations is Brophy’s mention that the Boston captain is another nominee.

MK: These guys have like a century of hockey-watching experience between them. Have they even heard of Zdeno Chara? Come on, plus/minus as a sign that Green is not a one-way performer? Then by that count Blake Wheeler (plus-34) and David Krejci (plus-36) should be running 1-2 for the Selke. Ask yourself this. You need one defenseman to win a game this season against a team with an Ovechkin or an Iginla on the other side and you’re also going to need some power-play scoring. Who do you take, Chara or Green? I think I’m going to have to write more on this when I have more time.