Is Grabovski expendable?
With the emergence of Nazem Kadri and Matt Frattin, in my mind, I feel that Grabo is in the spotlight and under the pressure of losing the 2nd line C position. Grabo's line has not been producing for the past couple of games. Too often, Grabo would just try to stick handle through the middle, or force an errant pass, among many other things. However, he does have 3G and 5P in 10 games this season.
I feel that Nazem Kadri has played tremendously well this season and he is proving that every game by making his teammates look good and displaying a lot of skill, grit and high-level of effort every game. I think he clearly deserves 2nd line C minutes. Granted, grabovski is infamous for slow starts and can potentially pot 50-60P every season, but i think we need more defined roles within our lineup. If we are ready to increase Kadri's minutes, then we have to see a reduction in Grabo's, and vice-versa. That said, Grabo does have value in the market, and his cap-hit is decent relative to other 2nd line centers who produce similar yearly points totals as him.
I can't think of any trade possibilities with grabovski. What do you guys think? What kind of moves do you guys think we should do? In my opinion, we need a 1C, 3C, top 4D and a G to be a playoff team. I love James Reimer and I think he should be starter but we need someone better than Scrivens, and someone who can actually challenge Reimer for the Number 1 position (Luongo?)
To Tor:
Brooks Laich
To Wash:
John Michael Liles
2013 5th round
Joe Colborne
To Tor:
???
To ???:
Grabovski
To Tor:
2013 2nd round pick (or better)
To Pittsburgh:
Clarke MacArthur
2013 Free Agent signing (if available)
Target: Getzlaf /Perry/Ryan Whitney
Lupul-Getzlaf-Kessel
Frattin-Kadri-Perry
Kulemin-Laich-Komarov
McLaren-McClement-Brown
Gunnarsson-Phaneuf
Whitney-Gardiner
Franson-Komisarek
Holzer
Fraser
Rielly (in the system)
Reimer
????
I know this is a fantasy, but it is still a possibility. Something tells me that Getzlaf and Perry will go together just like Parise and Sutter. Trading Grabovski now has a lot of advantages: Cap space, increased minutes for Kadri, and the possibility of tanking this year (for all you tanknation lovers) and getting a high draft pick.
What are your thoughts?