A banner screen-printed with Mike Green’s likeness hangs outside two of the uppermost levels of a parking garage underneath the Washington Capitals‘ practice facility. Alongside it are similar tributes to Rod Langway, the Hall of Famer and face of the franchise in the 1980s, and Alex Ovechkin, the team’s current star.
It’s unquestioned that Green has done his part to revitalize hockey in Washington, playing at a high level for the better part of his 10 seasons with the Capitals. He was twice a finalist for the Norris Trophy, given to the league’s best all-around defenseman, and experienced a renaissance this season, benefiting from the least time on ice in the previous seven years.