A few minutes before the best Caps defenseman of the modern era returned to Verizon Center on Tuesday night, the best Caps defenseman in franchise history was asked to explain Mike Green’s importance. Rod Langway paused to consider the question.
“He brought electricity,” the Secretary of Defense said, linking a young Green with his coeval Alex Ovechkin. “You had Ovi going for the MVP, you had Green the runner-up for the Norris Trophy, you had All-Star players, and there was electricity. That’s when the Capitals really came back.”
There was glaring symbolism in Green’s departure over the summer, an air horn signaling that the Young Guns days had ended and that something new was afoot.