Andy Greene named NJ Devils captain, obviously

The New Jersey Devils needed a captain, so they put the ‘C’ on a defenseman, which is their wont.

Andy Greene was named the 11th captain in team history, replacing defenseman Bryce Salvador and following in the tradition of defensemen Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Bruce Driver. 

The team actually had a stretch of six years with captains at the forward spot – Patrik Elias, followed by Jamie Langenbrunner and Zach Parise – but this makes two in a row on the back end.

Why Greene? Well, he’s signed through 2020 for one, with a no-trade clause. He’s a career Devil, for another. But he’s also the team’s oldest player (32) among its defensemen, which is the most promising area of the lineup. You could do a lot worse than having Greene as the role model for Adam Larsson, Eric Gelinas, Jon Merrill and Damon Severson, as he’s been during the start of their careers.

Since they’re all youngin’s on the blueline, the Devils named forwards Elias, Travis Zajac, Mike Cammalleri, Adam Henrique and Auston Matthews as their alternates. Ha, just kidding, Auston Matthews isn’t a Devil until next season …

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