Height: 5-11
Weight: 195
Shoot: R
Born: 23 Mar 1940, St Boniface MB (d. 2019)
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Regular Season & Playoff Scoring Record (key)
| year | team | |||||||||||
| 1972-73 | New England | |||||||||||
| 1973-74 | New England | |||||||||||
| 1974-75 | New England | |||||||||||
| 1975-76 | Winnipeg | |||||||||||
| 1976-77 | Winnipeg | |||||||||||
| 1977-78 | Winnipeg | |||||||||||
| 1978-79 | Winnipeg | |||||||||||
| Totals: |
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Tough Ted Green Belongs in Boston • by Dick Dew • The Hockey Spectator • November 1972
The hero of your standard, domestic hockey epic need not necessarily be the hat trick scorer or the shutout goalie. You need only look at a Bobby Orr or into the life and times of Edward "Teddy" Green to understand that. Green first achieved hockey prominence in Boston some years ago. He did it with a combination of skill, muscle and guts that made him the Bruins' most valuable player and the single most hated gate attraction throughout the National Hockey League. But the Bruins, who both mothered and fathered the arrival and growth of "Tough Ted" Green, had obviously forgotten he once was body, heart, soul and enforcer for the franchise and had very nearly given his life in behalf of that establishment hockey club. It's understandable, therefore, that when Ted Green saw a chance to play regularly once again before the adoring Boston fans, whom he loves in return, he took it. Ted hasn't regretted his leap to the World Hockey Association's New England Whalers, and the new team in the infant league hasn't had any grounds to regret his decision, either. In fact, it was almost certainly a wise move all around. Aside from their winning record, there has to be reason, much more reason, why the Whalers are far and away the WHA's best drawing franchise. And you can safely wager the grocery money on the fact that the 32-year-old defenseman, who nearly died following a 1969 stick fight with Wayne Maki, is playing a major role in that turnstile spurt. In signing Green and establishing him as their playing captain, the Whalers were responding to the pleas of Boston Garden customers. Nearly a year ago, during the Bruins' successful Stanley Cup playoff drive, the customers vainly chanted, "We Want Green." But Ted saw only momentary service. Now, he's a firm regular, taking a routine turn on defense despite a series of nagging hand and wrist injuries that would have sent many others scuttling for the medical room and maybe even a seat in the stands while they healed. It became apparent recently that the WHA players rate one of Green’s defensive mates, Rick Ley, ahead of the veteran skater for all-star purposes. And there's no quarrel with that. Ley has been playing very well for Jack Kelley's gang. But the players obviously weren't "checking the house" when they made their decision. That's because Green, more than any other player, is the key figure in the WHA's most encouraging attendance record — their fat 8,000-fan home average at Boston Garden games. You need only listen to the customers to know that. They start making noise when Green hits the ice. It shapes up as a demonstration when he goes down to block a shot. It gets slightly wild when he launches an offensive rush, something he's doing much more of in his "second career" as he set a personal career scoring high in the first half of the season. But the crowd really generates a mini-furor when Green delivers a body check or plasters a rival skater against the dasher. Admittedly and deliberately, Ted has altered the slam-bang style that made him famous in the NHL. He checks and he hits and he's willing to drop stick and gloves with anybody. But he's no longer making a career of it. "You can't win games from the penalty box," Green says simply. And his faithful followers don't seem to mind. They're still confirmed Ted Green fans and show no sign of going sour on the veteran blue-liner. Besides that, he's giving the East Division power club invaluable leadership in a variety of areas. And he's carried over one of his most noted characteristics from the NHL. When the Whalers lose a game, Ted takes it personally. And everybody in the locker room knows he's unhappy about it. "Some of us had been thinking we were better than the other guys. We had to learn that we still had to work to win, no matter who we were playing. It's never easy and some of us might have forgotten that," Ted said. Perhaps the highest praise comes from Al Smith, the veteran goalie playing just behind Teddy in the Whaler nets. "Green is playing his heart out," Smith says simply. "He's been great, particularly for me. I used to think I had to stop everything and everyone by myself. But with Teddy out there, blocking shots and hitting people, I know I can concentrate better on my job. I feel I can do that much better now, and he's a good part of the reason." A lot of WHA players have fat, long-term contracts designed to make them key figures in the struggle for the customer dollars. But none of them are paying a higher return on the investment than Ted Green. His fans are right there, sometimes seated but more often up and yelling for Teddy. |
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Excerpts from Pro Hockey, WHA 1975-76 (by Dan Proudfoot)
The former captain of the New England Whalers comes to Winnipeg as somewhat of a question mark. Jets management realise his acquisition, for future considerations, was a gamble. Green, 35, has an admirable history of inspired, gung-ho play. Whalers, though, obviously considered his history to be too long, for they sat him out much of the time while playing younger men. Chances are that Green will hush any critics. He's from Winnipeg originally and that, coupled with leaving behind the frustration of his situation with Whalers, likely will produce a standout year. Green spurned an offer from the Jets three years ago, choosing Whalers because they played in Boston, where he had been a member of the NHL Bruins for 10 years. "But this is a decision I'm pleased to be able to make now," Green said when he signed to return. |
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Excerpts from Zander Hollander Complete Hockey Handbook, 1975-76 (by Reyn Davis) His real value to a club is measured not only in ability but in character as well... A born leader... Renegotiated the remaining year of his New England contract and signed for two more with the Jets... Insists he's not coming home to retire and believes he will sign at least one more contract after this one... Friend Bobby Orr claims Teddy is the strongest he's ever been and is playing the best hockey since his injury... Injury, of course, was the near fatal blow on the head he suffered in a stick fight with the late Wayne Maki... Intense competitor... Lives on a little farm just outside of Winnipeg... Doesn't fight as much, though still very handy with his mitts... "I don't go looking for it," he says. |
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Excerpts from Pro Hockey, WHA 1976-77 (by Dan Proudfoot)
Ted Green almost died in 1969 after a stick-swinging incident and, ever since, his hockey life has been a trial. Once the heart of the Boston Bruins, he was only able to perform up to his old standards on an unpredictable basis. He stuck with the Bruins for two years after missing the 1969-70 season with his severe skull fracture, and then he was signed by the New England Whalers, which played in Boston in the early years of the WHA. But Green never felt at ease. It wasn't the same as before the injury. It wasn't the same, that is, until a playoff game that Green dominated for Jets in 1976. "It's just refreshing to be playing the game," he said. "That's how I feel now." Green's return to Winnipeg, where he first played as a professional back in 1959, has been beneficial to both him and the team. Green, now 36, was a gamble when Jets acquired him for future considerations from the Whalers, but it's turned out extremely well. |
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