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Columnist: Mike Green is ‘destined to be traded’ by Caps

Washington Capitals v Nashville Predators

NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 30: Mike Green #52 of the Washington Capitals skates during warm ups prior to a game against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on March 30, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)

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The Detroit Red Wings tried their best to land a right-handed shot defenseman in free agency. They were hot after Dan Boyle, Matt Niskanen, and Anton Stralman and saw them all decide to sign elsewhere.

Now the Wings are sniffing around on the trade market to find someone capable of playing big minutes from the right side and help bolster their blue line. Names like Tyler Myers and Cody Franson have come up, but Ansar Khan of Mlive.com has an idea of who they should pursue: Washington’s Mike Green.

Khan says with the Caps recent additions of Niskanen and Brooks Orpik, Green is “destined to be traded.” Khan adds that the “Capitals don’t need” Green. Tell us more, Ansar.

Washington has eight defensemen on one-way contracts, one more than they need. Niskanen essentially replaces Green on the top power-play unit. The Capitals have just 12 forwards; they need one more and have only $1.1 million of cap space. Unloading Green would give them flexibility.

That’s nice in theory, but let’s look at what Green provided the Capitals last season. He had nine goals and 38 points in 70 games and averaged over 22 minutes per game of ice time. Add in that he was also a possession monster for the Caps and you’ve got a very valuable player.

Yes, Green is headed into the final year of his contract with the team with a cap hit of over $6 million, but to think the Caps would easily part with him is foolish. If Detroit wants him, they’d have to be prepared to part with a couple of their hot prospect forwards.

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