Matt Greene becomes a UFA at the end of this season. He has been a healthy scratch a lot as of late, something like 12 games in a row, as well as oft injured. This year his cap hit is right around $2,950,000. What to do with him? do we:
A) Resign him at his current price.
B) Try to resign him for a home town discount
C) Let him walk at the end of the season.
Now I like Matt Greene, and I like the physicality he brings to the team. but can we afford him. Even with the cap going up we also have Willie Mitchell, Trevor Lewis, Marian Gaborik, and Colin Fraser as UFA's and Dwight King is a RFA as is Linden vey. So what to do. What are your opinions on this.
It's a tough call. I'd be leaning toward letting Greene go at this point, but as others have said we should also factor in what Mitchell is doing too.
That said, maybe letting both go and signing Orpik (if we can) and promoting McNabb would work best. DL's best UFA pickups by far have been stay at home defensemen like Mitchell and Scuderi. If he feels he can get a good one in UFA I trust him.
Greene also has reasons to stay, but I'd imagine being a healthy scratch for 12 games has soured him on the idea of resigning without testing the market as well. I think in the end the decision to leave will be more Greene's than LA's. If both Mitchell and Greene leave, I think we can survive it though.
As for our other UFA's to be, I'd be letting Fraser walk and at this point I doubt very much he's in the plans for next year in any way, shape or form. Gaborik would depend on how many years he wants, but if it's anything more than two years he can walk, and ideally just a one year deal would be best. Trevor Lewis would need to resign at his current salary or less or I'd let him go too. I like him, but his offense does not translate to his production at all. To have just 11 points in 67 games doesn't warrant a raise.
You reup with both King and vey though. I doubt Vey gets a big salary increase, likely just a 10% raise if that. King is likely looking at a 3 year, $4.5 million dollar deal though.
Take a look at the market, then decide.
Matt Greene won't command over 2.5 million. Wife is from LA.
Word is EDM has no interest in him, according to beat writers.
Greene is probably staying in LA at a reduced cost. One year deal probably at around 1.8-2.0 million.
No team is going to offer Greene a big contract, he has to prove he can stay healthy and still play in this league.
That might be true, but if we are only offering Greene a $1 million pay cut, what's the incentive to resign with LA? His wife being from LA won't stop him from moving likely at that level of a pay cut. He'd test the market before resigning in LA at that price and with the cap going up he'll likely have several suitors.
