News Article: Brian Burke: ‘Mikhail Grabovski is just a class act’

[MrLegend28*]

Grabbo is a pond hockey player who doesnt fit this NHLs style.. cause ya, the NHL isnt about open ice and pond style hockey........

 

[zeke]

The similarity between Grabo and Jason Blake is eerie.

 

[philozak]

Actually, that was so misguided, it's funny. Poster has not watched Washington, clearly. Anyone watching could see that Holtby has been terrible.

You're not helping yourself any. FACT.

now were blaming Grabbo's definciencies on Holtby???.Bottom line is Grabbo has worked his way onto the 3rd line in Washington, same place Carlyle had him in Toronto. Those type of guys get released at the yr end. Hes not a 3rd liner type nor a top 2 line skill. His 3 teams know this, except it didnt take Washington long to decide hes not a top 6 guy.

 

[philozak]

Grabbo is a pond hockey player who doesnt fit this NHLs style.. cause ya, the NHL isnt about open ice and pond style hockey........

exactly

 

[philozak]

Yeah, you should stop arguing nonsense points.

He's not borderline, at all. He's an NHL player who didn't fit the identity of the team he was signed with any longer.

Stop now, before you dig a bigger hole by post # 20.

he didnt fit as a 1st, 2nd or 3rd liner in Toronto. Montreal didnt want him. And hes deemed a 3rd liner in Washington. Whats it going to take for youto figure out he dont "fit" anywhere? A few more teams?. Toronto is my team, BIG TIME but im not conforming to other peoples opinions if i dont believe in them or because someone that has 5,000 posts thinks they are more knowledgable.

 

[Ari91]

Actually, that was so misguided, it's funny. Poster has not watched Washington, clearly. Anyone watching could see that Holtby has been terrible.

You're not helping yourself any. FACT.

This doesn't even make any sense.

Grabovski got demoted to the third line and hasn't had a point since his Caps debut all because Holtby is bad? Do you really think your doing yourself any favours with that kind of rebuttal?

Forward lines and defensive pairings are not designed based on how your goalie is playing. NEVER. Holtby may be the reason why the Caps aren't winning games, but he sure as hell ain't the reason why Grabo is no longer scoring or why he's playing on the third line.

 

[philozak]

This doesn't even make any sense.

Grabovski got demoted to the third line and hasn't had a point since his Caps debut all because Holtby is bad? Do you really think your doing yourself any favours with that kind of rebuttal?

Forward lines and defensive pairings are not designed based on how your goalie is playing. NEVER. Holtby may be the reason why the Caps aren't winning games, but he sure as hell ain't the reason why Grabo is no longer scoring or why he's playing on the third line.

very good reply/backing , ive never heard anything so utterly ridiculous in my life.

 

[Faltorvo]

and i brought the "seniority" card in because the poster suggested i start watching some Leaf games. So i said that, not trying to pound my chest. Just responding to somone who suggested i dont watch Leaf games.

Well sorry, but it sure sounded like you lacked actual games watched, when you made the claim that Grabo got a real shotat skating with the likes of Lups/Kess, because it never happened.

 

[Faltorvo]

What I do not get is the silly argument that Grabo did not get the opportunity to play with Kessel and Lupul etc. Why is that even a valid argument. There have been two coaches with vastly different philosophies in coaching strategies and neither of them thought that Grabo was an option as a number one center. This is a fact.....two NHL coaches did not think he was a player to center the top line. Both had him as their number two line until in the case of Carlyle who saw Kadri take over as the number two center as he was producing and Grabo was not.

You earn your opportunities not get them handed to you, and Grabo was not deserving of being used as our number one center based on the views of two vastly different coaches. Carlyle was not unfair to him, he simply got out played by Kadri....that is not a slight against Grabo as Kadri would out play many many centers in the league as he is very skilled. He was let go because he lost his job as a center in the Leafs top 6 and was not an effective 3rd line center with the cap hit that he had.

I'm not sure it's that simple Dice.

Lups has not regularly skated on the top line for some time now, are we supposed to read the bad into that, our are we supposed to read that both coach's tried to establish 2 scoring lines?

I must admit, i would have liked to have seen what would have happened if Grabo and Kessel got something like a 15 game shot at it.

 

[Faltorvo]

Do you ever read who you respond to? I mean, everyone is disagreeing with some of your points but you just mindlessly respond and not read. You just respond with "lol".

Look at all those players I listed. Guys like Brunner had 4 months to sign with a team! Hainsey too!

When you become a free agent, especially after you get bought out suddenly, its a shock to the player and their families. This isn't NHL 14 when you're on the market right away. You assess the situation, discuss your options, and the like. This isn't a video game. Part of the negotiation is holding out until teams like Washington figure out their cap or suffer injuries so you put your self in the best possible situation. Here is his agent saying that several teams were interested. http://www.torontosun.com/2013/07/06/several-teams-interested-in-grabovski-agent

It's the same reason Bryzgalov hasn't signed a small deal. He wants a good situation.

There were restrictions on him. Teams like Philly, Boston had full line ups and were over the cap. It's not as easy when the cap goes down significantly to find work that best suits you. Im sure 29 teams would have signed Grabovski for 500k to play on their fourth line.

He went onto the market AFTER the UFA day. After all the other teams put in offers and signed other players to fill their line up. Again, do you not see how insane you sound? I mean, Rick Nash signed with NYR. Only 1 TAKER for him 2 years ago. Heck, I'm shocked Clarkson only had 1 Taker. Or McClement. Do you think Raymond only had 1 taker? Multiple teams submit offers that you never hear about.

You don't really use any facts and arguing with you is really rather pointless. No one disagrees that Grabovski wasn't a fit on the Leafs but you don't really help your arguments when you lie

One has to also wonder what offers came from the KHL and the tug of war that might have caused.

 

[GrabsOverHabs]

This doesn't even make any sense.

Grabovski got demoted to the third line and hasn't had a point since his Caps debut all because Holtby is bad? Do you really think your doing yourself any favours with that kind of rebuttal?

False, he has two assists since then. I'm not saying the other guy is right, but your facts are wrong.

 

[Ari91]

False, he has two assists since then. I'm not saying the other guy is right, but your facts are wrong.

I checked the Caps site and you are correct. He has had 2 points since his 4 point debut. Doesn't change the point but accurate information is always better information. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Ari91]

Do you ever read who you respond to? I mean, everyone is disagreeing with some of your points but you just mindlessly respond and not read. You just respond with "lol".

Look at all those players I listed. Guys like Brunner had 4 months to sign with a team! Hainsey too!

When you become a free agent, especially after you get bought out suddenly, its a shock to the player and their families. This isn't NHL 14 when you're on the market right away. You assess the situation, discuss your options, and the like. This isn't a video game. Part of the negotiation is holding out until teams like Washington figure out their cap or suffer injuries so you put your self in the best possible situation. Here is his agent saying that several teams were interested. http://www.torontosun.com/2013/07/06/several-teams-interested-in-grabovski-agent

It's the same reason Bryzgalov hasn't signed a small deal. He wants a good situation.

There were restrictions on him. Teams like Philly, Boston had full line ups and were over the cap. It's not as easy when the cap goes down significantly to find work that best suits you. Im sure 29 teams would have signed Grabovski for 500k to play on their fourth line.

He went onto the market AFTER the UFA day. After all the other teams put in offers and signed other players to fill their line up. Again, do you not see how insane you sound? I mean, Rick Nash signed with NYR. Only 1 TAKER for him 2 years ago. Heck, I'm shocked Clarkson only had 1 Taker. Or McClement. Do you think Raymond only had 1 taker? Multiple teams submit offers that you never hear about.

You don't really use any facts and arguing with you is really rather pointless. No one disagrees that Grabovski wasn't a fit on the Leafs but you don't really help your arguments when you lie

You can't accuse someone of not using facts in their arguments when on the flip side you use incorrect facts to make yours. The buyout deadline was BEFORE free agency. I'm pretty sure it was designed that way so that bought out players aren't at the kind of disadvantage that Grabovski was in your incorrect story.

 

[IBeL34f]

You can't accuse someone of not using facts in their arguments when on the flip side you use incorrect facts to make yours. The buyout deadline was BEFORE free agency. I'm pretty sure it was designed that way so that bought out players aren't at the kind of disadvantage that Grabovski was in your incorrect story.

Also, Nash never signed with the Rangers, he was traded to them, so that point is moot as well.

Having said that, the gist of the OP is actually true, posters often seem to ignore the fact that these guys are making real-life decisions that are much more complicated than a video-game signing.

 

[diceman934]

very good reply/backing , ive never heard anything so utterly ridiculous in my life.

I believe it really is as simple as that.

Lupul is a different kettle of fish as he was injuried last year and when he came back JVR was doing well on the top line and Carlyle tried him with Kadri and they had and still have lots of chemistry so Kadri and Lupul are paired together. Garbo on the other hand lost his top 6 offensive roll as we had better options ahead of him.

 

[Ari91]

Also, Nash never signed with the Rangers, he was traded to them, so that point is moot as well.

Having said that, the gist of the OP is actually true, posters often seem to ignore the fact that these guys are making real-life decisions that are much more complicated than a video-game signing.

I do agree with the OP to some extent. There are many reasons that a player may choose to sign a certain contract. It's a little presumptuous of the OP to assume exactly what those reasons are. The OP used Brunner and Hainsey as examples along with Grabo for players who took their time to sign because it's an important real life decision. How does the OP know that the decision didn't come down to the interested team that offered the most money? or most term? How does the OP know for certain that the time took for those players to sign wasn't a negotiating tactic on their part where they identified who their serious suitors were and used time as their leverage to get the best possible deal?

Why is it okay to assume that real life considerations can delay a decision even though negotiating tactics are just as much a realistic possibility in delaying a decision?

There is merit to the OPs comments but they are still debatable points. I do enjoy playing devil's advocate but I didn't argue the point initially because I do think that given Grabo's circumstances, taking time to sign a contract was likely related to personal decisions. For one thing, his wedding and honeymoon coincided with the start of FA. When planning his wedding, he was under contract so it's unlikely that he was anticipating the possibility of his honeymoon conflicting with the need to negotiate another contract. He probably let his agent do whatever he could on his end while he enjoyed some time with his new wife and maybe they made the decision together afterwards.

 

[diceman934]

There is a very wide gap between being a #1 centre and not being good enough for the league.

Can you please point out where I said anything of the sort.

 

[Paul Granger]

How would Brian Burke know what a class act is?

 

[ACC1224]

How would Brian Burke know what a class act is?

Look in the mirror.

 

[ACC1224]

Can you please point out where I said anything of the sort.

I assumed you were adding on to the others thought on Grabovski not being NHL caliber, apparently not.

 

[Antropovsky]

Mac:"he had 4 points in his 1st game, whose right there? I don't know."

Macarthur throwing caryle and leaf management under the bus, for lack of playing time and ultimately he and Grabo leaving.

 

[Renegade]

Grabovski had time to justify his 5.5M salary but clearly a better, cheaper, younger player in Kadri took his spot with flying colours. Carlyle didn't send him to the 3rd line, Kadri outplayed Grabovski for 2nd line minutes. Don't get me wrong, he's a great player but you can't justify his contract with the way he played. That's Burke's fault and mismanagement.

Also, Bozak is fine on our 1st line. He plays and he gets the job done. What more can you ask? We can't just trade for a bonafide #1 centre. Not gonna happen.

 

[zeke]

Mac:"he had 4 points in his 1st game, whose right there? I don't know."

Macarthur throwing caryle and leaf management under the bus, for lack of playing time and ultimately he and Grabo leaving.

Grabovski: 8gms, 3gls (2pp), 6pts (5pp), 16:48 (2:27pp)
D.Bolland: 9gms, 3gls (1pp), 6pts (2pp), 16:07 (0:44pp)

MacArthur: 8gms, 0gls (0pp), 4pts (0pp), 17:39 (2:15pp)
Raymond: 9gms, 4gls (1pp), 8pts (3pp), 18:16 (2:35pp)

whose right? I know.