Anecdotes on Andy Greene

Over the entirety of his hockey career, Andy Greene
has earned the reputation
as a consummate professional, a selfless teammate, bonafide leader and an upstanding person individual off the ice.
Read anecdotes from his current and former teammates and coaches as they celebrate his impressive and deserving 1,000 NHL career games milestone.

Josh Bailey, current teammate on the New York Islanders since 2020

"I can't say enough good things. You can see why he's been around for as long as he has. He's just a character person, teammate and player. He was always one of those guys playing against that you had a lot of respect for not just as a person, but as a player as well. He has a great mind for the game. He sees the ice well. He's always in good spots. It's a huge accomplishment. It's something he'll be very proud of, as he should be. We're proud to be calling him a teammate for the last little while."

Mathew Barzal, current teammate on the New York Islanders since 2020

"I love Greeney. He's obviously older than me. He's got kids and a family at home; he's living that life. I wish that he was 10 or 12 years younger or at my age. I feel like at 24 me and him would have a blast together. His humor is so funny. It's subtle, really subtle humor. There's so much you could say about him. He's literally the ultimate guy. I'm just happy for him."

Noah Dobson, current teammate on the New York Islanders since 2020

"Andy has been great for me. Ever since he came in, I've been able to get to know him pretty well. We've played together quite a bit over the last year and a half. He's got such a great presence in the locker room. He's got a calm demeanor. On the ice, he does all of the little things right. He's just so calm out there. I've been able to learn lots from him. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from him. 1,000 games is a great milestone. Hopefully, it'll be a special night for him."

Scott Mayfield, current teammate on the New York Islanders since 2020

"The second he got in here, he fit in. We had some guys hanging out in one of the lounges, he comes in and you would have thought he'd played here for years. That's the biggest thing I remember about Andy when he came in. He brought that attitude that we all have, the way we share everything together. He just gets along with everyone."

Jean-Gabriel Pageau, current teammate on the New York Islanders since 2020

"He's someone that everyone is looking up to. Just to go this far in a career and to still be able to have an impact in a game and be steady. Everyone is looking up to [him] and trying to learn as much as possible form a guy like Andy. He's been through a lot. He's had some really good years. You want to try and take as much as you can [from being around him."

Kyle Palmieri, teammate on both the New Jersey Devils (2015-20) and New York Islanders (2021-)

"For me, going back playing with him for the last six or so years. I've gotten to know him and his family. He's an awesome role model. We had a young team in New Jersey, and he was our captain up until the trade. For even some of the older guys, the way he carried himself, his professionalism, and his backstory; how he came up, being undrafted, it's a pretty special thing to be able to have a career like that. He's just one of those guys that has an unbelievable personality. He's a great dad. He loves to spend time with his family. For young guys or older guys, he's someone you look to in all different kinds of situations. To be able to share that milestone with him is going to be an incredible honor for us."

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Zach Parise, teammate on both the New Jersey Devils (2006-12) and New York Islanders (2021-)

"We always do competing mustaches for Halloween. We've done that and that's been our thing since New Jersey. That dates back to about 2006. He can grow one naturally, so he's got the advantage because I really can't at all."
"He's everything that you would want in a really good teammate. He's a reliable person on the ice and in the locker room. That was recognized with him being captain in New Jersey and just the respect that he's received from other team's players. It's not surprising, me having known him personally. But just looking back to when he came into the league, and they were transitioning away from the bigger [sized] style of hockey and Andy was a part of that new wave of smaller, mobile d-men. He made an incredible career out of that. Fast forward and he's playing 1,000 games. He's defied the odds in a way, if you look at how that trajectory hadn't really been paved yet for guys like him. He's just an incredible player and an even better person, there's not much more to say than that."

Ryan Pulock, teammate on the New York Islanders since 2020

"He's stuck around for a long time; he's played for a long time. He's a great guy to have around. He's a calming influence, whether it be off the ice or on the ice. He gets along with everyone. He does a great job with some of the young guys. He's obviously been a huge part of the success that we've had here. I'm going to be really happy for him when he can hit that 1,000 games."

Cory Schneider, teammate on both the New Jersey Devils (2013-20) and New York Islanders (2021-)

"Andy's been one of the most underrated and underappreciated defensemen in the league. Especially when we were in New Jersey together. Always smart, always knows where to be. Reads the game so well, he thinks the game like a goalie. He's a step ahead, anticipates and then he's got great instincts in terms of stick and positioning and just able to get a piece of pucks or deny a pass or a play. That's the type of game that translates well into your older age, to put it kindly with him, so he's relied on a lot of those traits that made him a good defender for a long time and still make him effective today. I always feel comfortable with Andy on the ice."

Grant Hutton, alumni of the University of Miami-Ohio and current member of the New York Islanders organization

"The best way I can describe Andy was that he left a huge footprint on the program. He set a standard for not only his own teammates, but for everybody who was going to play for that program moving forward. His actions both on and off the ice helped shape the Brotherhood into what it is today. That's not just being a good player on the ice, but that's being a great human off the ice and taking care of the people around you, treating others the right way. That impression is massive in Miami hockey's culture. It's crazy to look back at some of those great players who were at Miami, their values and what things were important to them are still prominent in the culture there today. That all starts with Andy. He's one of those guys that you kind of wish he was your neighbor, right? You know he's going to be there for you no matter what. I think that's a true testament to his dedication to his craft and his dedication to being just a good human being."

Travis Zajac, teammate on both the New Jersey Devils (2006-19) and New York Islanders (2021)

"Our first camp together, we went out to dinner at this place called Pal's Cabin, it's an old Jersey diner-kind of thing. It was our first time going out to dinner together. They put us in this honeymoon table where it's like half a table and the chairs were right beside each other. We both looked at each other like, 'Uh okay, I guess we're really going to get to know each other.' That's just a really great story of our first experience together and one we still laugh at all these years later. I'm so fortunate that through the years I got to call him not just a teammate, but a great friend."
"There are times on the ice where the game seems so easy. Even playing against him last year, he'd be laughing when he was playing defense against me because he knew I couldn't do anything. The game is just easy for him, it's like he plays in a rocking chair sometimes. As a player, he's never gotten that credit as the go-to guy or the top defenseman or all that. In my eyes, he always has been. That's why he can still play at this age because he's so good at playing the game, being in the right position, never getting beat, he's got a good stick and he's got great hockey sense. That's the biggest thing that's kept him in the league and still playing important minutes for a team that's trying to win a championship. He's not a guy that wants the accolades or the awards. At the same time, it's more deserving than ever for him. He's been a great friend and a great teammate. It's a really special day and all I can say is, I'm so proud of him."

Coach Enrico Blasi, coached Andy at of the University of Miami-Ohio Redhawks (2002-06)

"He was one of our best captains, arguably the best captain we ever had. He wasn't real rah-rah, but he led by example. He played hard every night. He did things the right way in terms of how he played and how he prepared. That really set the tone for our program for years to come. He was a big part of that. He's been able to develop his role at the NHL level, where he's stayed for a long time because he's smart and he's figured that out. Not a lot of guys would be able to do that. Maybe have a year or two of flashing the pan or whatever. Andy just knows how to play the game, knows what to do in his skill set and understands how he can get it done. As a coach, you want Andy on your team because you can rely on him and you can trust him every night no question. One of the most special parts of coaching is coaching a guy like Andy. A guy that just did everything right. And now, 1,000 games later is still playing in the NHL. That's pretty special."

Stephen Gionta, teammate on the New Jersey Devils (2010-2016)

"His professionalism is unmatched. His preparation, the way he takes care of himself. There's a reason why he's had that consistency and the ability to play 1,000 games at 39. It's his professionalism. He's one of the best professionals there is and probably one of the best teammates I've had."

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Linda Greene, Andy's mother

"Everybody always says that I must be so proud of Andy because he's a professional hockey player. You know what, I'm really proud of Andy because he's a good person, he's a great husband and he's a great father. Just to see him with his children, mothers can't ask for anything more than that. He's just Andy Greene. He's not any different. We go on vacation and all of the brothers are together, all of the family is together, and he cuts the grass, he cleans the dishes, he cooks dinner when it's his turn. That's who he is. And he does the same thing at home. It just does a mother's heart so good. That's probably the thing I'm most proud of. He's just a good person, a good dad, a good husband, a good brother and a good son."

Alec Martinez, teammate at the University of Miami-Ohio (2005-06)

"We used to go golfing all the time back in college and he had this Nike Slingshot driver that he'd whip out. I mean the thing was like a waffle iron on a stick, it had to be illegal or at least that's what we'd tell him. And he didn't care he'd just laugh it off, but that thing was completely ridiculous. I mean there he was a senior; the captain of the team and he was hanging out and golfing with us loser freshmen. Just your typical freshmen and we were a bunch of goofs, you know? But that's just the kind of guy Andy is and the kind of teammate he is. That stuff doesn't matter to him. He just makes everyone feel like they're part of it."
"I stepped in my freshman year [at Miami] and he was already everything I wanted to be. A Michigan kid, an All-American, a guy that was sought after at the NHL level. I looked up to him a lot and he did teach me a lot both on and off the ice. One, how to carry yourself, how to take care of yourself. Off the ice, Greener was always a hard worker. Any time you're a young guy, you're able to be influenced by someone that has that kind of character. A lot of people can have talent, but not a lot of people have what Greener has and obviously, still has. You don't get to the point of playing 1,000 games in the NHL without those other intangibles. On a lot of levels, he's a guy that I looked up to and learned a lot from, not just at Miami, but me just watching his career and trying to learn from him that way as he progressed through the pro ranks. The coolest part is just considering him a friend."

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Bryce Salvador, teammate on the New Jersey Devils (2007-15)

"There was always chaos in our cab rides, and I always had to be the one to pay. We just had fun memories, but I am so structured that I would get so anxious if a cab went the wrong way or took a detour. Greener would always give it to me. He would always get me riled up because he knew how sensitive I was if the cab was trying to take us the wrong way to jack up the route. He would just sit there in the back and just poke me and poke me. There's just those little comments, he's not a big storyteller. But he's got great little comments every now and then and knows how to push buttons. I just remember those infamous cab rides."
"When people ask me the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Andy Greene, it's resilience. It's a guy that was given nothing and now, he's approaching 1,000 games. He had to work through everything. I remember seeing him healthy scratched and being upset, having to manage that and work through that. I always had a place and time for him because of how hard he worked and that he was always a good guy in the locker room. You just have time for people like that."

Mike Turner, coached Andy at Trenton High School (1997-00)

"Andy came back. He always came back to make his rounds. Not every pro athlete would do that, but he does. And when he's back there's of course excitement and he knows that, but he doesn't have an ego about it. He's never let it get to his head of anything like that. When he's here, he really goes out of his way to spend some time with the kids, and he'll give back when know one's watching. He and [his wife] Rachel are really generous. But he's still the same Andy that I coached."
"He made it to the big league and kids from Trenton look up to him. He developed this hockey school that had so many young Trenton kids involved. He just became an extremely popular role model for so many young kids in this town. It was incredible what he did and how he gave back to this community. He hasn't changed, he's just got 1,000 NHL games under his belt now."