Mike Green can't wait to begin life as a Red Wing

Mike Green will be wearing red and white this season, but things will definitely be different.

The veteran defenseman is a member of the Detroit Red Wings, after spending the first 10 years of his career with the Washington Capitals, who drafted him in 2004. He signed a three-year, $18-million contract with Detroit as a free agent.

Green skated at Joe Louis Arena on Friday, and is looking forward to life as Detroit's primary right-handed shooting defenseman.

He told NHL.com's Paul Harris:

(I spent) a long time in Washington but moving forward here, I'm extremely excited to be a part of this group, especially with the history, the leadership here, the recipe to win. Overall, just a great deal of excitement.

The guys have been very welcoming, so I can't wait to get started.

Detroit hasn't employed an offensive-minded right-handed defenseman since Brian Rafalski, and Green said that as an opponent of the Red Wings, teams were well aware of the fact.

I guess they haven't had too many in the past. I know that when we would play against the Red Wings, we would try to run plays against their left-handed guys. Being a right guy, I'll do my best to move the puck and get it into the forwards' hands.

Green had 46 points last season, the most since his career year in 2009-10, when he had 76 points in 75 games, including 19 goals. Expect him to man the Red Wings' top power-play unit along with Niklas Kronwall.

Green's an excellent puck-moving defenseman, and his ability to make a first pass will help Red Wings forwards. There could be a lot of assists in his future.

I think Detroit, they play a very puck-possession game and have some incredible players that can make some plays so I'm excited to play with these guys. Detroit was always a tough team to play against, especially as a defenseman. They have some skill up front and they're very dangerous.