Michael Grabner

[luki here]

me too. i had him and Moulson on my list of guys that were too soft, one dimensional, and should be traded. he seems to have really turned things around. is playing a much more complete game, and his speed will always be a major factor.

amazing on the PK. wonder why he is not being tried on the PP? IMO, he has earned it more than PMB, Regan, McDonald.

In his breakout season they used him on the 2nd pp unit. However, I think considering his already increased ES TOI and his weakness along the boards, that we are better off without him on the pp. You don't want to tire out your top pk unit players either.

 

[sselssalc]

Some questions on Grabner: is it likely he'll stick as the #1 LW with JT? Also, has he been given an opportunity on the 1st PP unit?

 

[RMimagery]

Some questions on Grabner: is it likely he'll stick as the #1 LW with JT? Also, has he been given an opportunity on the 1st PP unit?

No one knows right now. I don't think he's on the first PP but nothing seems set in stone.

The lines aren't quite clicking yet and there's lots of possibilities. If you're asking for fantasy purposes, I think he'll get his points whether he's playing with JT or Nielsen.

 

[luki here]

whether he sticks or not will depend on his production. I assume it's an experiment that will end after 3 games or so.

He won't be on the pp unless he really starts lighting it up. Even then I would expect him to be on the much weaker 2nd pp unit.

 

[ML19]

I'm just wondering if anyone has any updates on grabners recovery. I know he was placed on IR during the pre season and was expected to be out 4 to 6 weeks. Do you think we could see him before the second half of November, or even as early as NOV 5TH? also where do you all see him fitting in? We obviously need him for the PK so I'm assuming he takes conachers roster spot.

[Edit] I just found out bailey is expected back for the road trip, so if coma chef is scratched for bailey where do we have room for grabber? Martin in the press box? (Boulton waived)

 

[InformTheMasses]

[Edit] I just found out bailey is expected back for the road trip, so if coma chef is scratched for bailey where do we have room for grabber? Martin in the press box? (Boulton waived)

Well, if martin and conacher were in the press box and Boulton were waived that would have the islanders 14 best forwards on the roster and the 12 best forwards on the ice.......

Knowing that and knowing whom our coaches are, I seriously doubt that's how it happens. There always has to be at least a couple of guys on the roster that have much bigger roles than they should, get playing time over players that are more talented and earn roster spots over players who are more deserving. Its the cappy way.

Just wondering who gets screwed next time.

 

[MaryChristine*]

Well, if martin and conacher were in the press box and Boulton were waived that would have the islanders 14 best forwards on the roster and the 12 best forwards on the ice.......

Knowing that and knowing whom our coaches are, I seriously doubt that's how it happens. There always has to be at least a couple of guys on the roster that have much bigger roles than they should, get playing time over players that are more talented and earn roster spots over players who are more deserving. Its the cappy way.

Just wondering who gets screwed next time.

It wouldn't be cappy's roster if something stupid wasn't going on.

 

[redbull]

Well, if martin and conacher were in the press box and Boulton were waived that would have the islanders 14 best forwards on the roster and the 12 best forwards on the ice.......

Knowing that and knowing whom our coaches are, I seriously doubt that's how it happens. There always has to be at least a couple of guys on the roster that have much bigger roles than they should, get playing time over players that are more talented and earn roster spots over players who are more deserving. Its the cappy way.

Just wondering who gets screwed next time.

Bailey - Tavares - Okposo
Grabovski - Nielsen - Kulemin
Lee - Nelson - Strome
Grabner - Cizikas - Clutterbuck

Martin, Conacher, Boulton, McDonald

After JT/KO, the crop of (8) forwards from Bailey to Grabner are all solid hockey players, the Isles should have four dangerous lines and six solid dmen. There's a tonne of flexibility and you can swap Bailey-Grabovski, Grabs-Kuly, Lee-Bailey, whatever.

I don't see how you can dress Martin or Conacher with a full line-up. Conacher's a #14 fwd on this Isles team - at best. Couldn't be more obvious from what I've seen. No excuses. No coach can screw this up.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any updates on grabners recovery. I know he was placed on IR during the pre season and was expected to be out 4 to 6 weeks. Do you think we could see him before the second half of November, or even as early as NOV 5TH? also where do you all see him fitting in? We obviously need him for the PK so I'm assuming he takes conachers roster spot.

[Edit] I just found out bailey is expected back for the road trip, so if coma chef is scratched for bailey where do we have room for grabber? Martin in the press box? (Boulton waived)

haven't heard anything on Grabs. Heard a Snow interview yesterday and he had no further update on Grabs. It's a groin, so it takes as long as it takes. He hasn't even started skating yet so he's probably still pretty far off.

 

[InformTheMasses]

Bailey - Tavares - Okposo
Grabovski - Nielsen - Kulemin
Lee - Nelson - Strome
Grabner - Cizikas - Clutterbuck

Martin, Conacher, Boulton, McDonald

.

Switch Bailey and Grabovski and we are all set. Actually, You know what? With those 12 forwards on the ice, it's almost impossible to screw up the lines. There is enough talent there and balance (speed, scoring, forechecking, size, board work) to have good lines in nearly any formation..... Unless of course the coach does something stupid like give Cizikas the 4th most amount of ice time....... wait a minute ....DOH!

 

[SDIsles34]

Switch Bailey and Grabovski and we are all set. Actually, You know what? With those 12 forwards on the ice, it's almost impossible to screw up the lines. There is enough talent there and balance (speed, scoring, forechecking, size, board work) to have good lines in nearly any formation..... Unless of course the coach does something stupid like give Cizikas the 4th most amount of ice time....... wait a minute ....DOH!

At the Barclays preseason game vs. the Devils, I thought Grabovski and Tavares showed some awesome chemistry. Really surprised they didn't give them a longer look... well, considering the coaching staff I'm actually not surprised.

 

[steveat]

Maybe they thought Grabo on the first line gimped the second line too much? I can't think of another reason.

Also...we haven't seen Grabs play yet in regular season play. The problem I see is that...he's pretty streaky..something Kyle got better at. He can either come out top or come in as bad as he was in his sophomore year.

I hope he starts this year playing strong.

 

[luki here]

Well, if martin and conacher were in the press box and Boulton were waived that would have the islanders 14 best forwards on the roster and the 12 best forwards on the ice.......

Knowing that and knowing whom our coaches are, I seriously doubt that's how it happens. There always has to be at least a couple of guys on the roster that have much bigger roles than they should, get playing time over players that are more talented and earn roster spots over players who are more deserving. Its the cappy way.

Just wondering who gets screwed next time.

cappy always had a grudge with grabs, wouldnt be surprised to see him delegated to minimal ice time until he forces cappy's hand (as has happened several times already).

 

[LeapOnOver]

I'm just wondering if anyone has any updates on grabners recovery. I know he was placed on IR during the pre season and was expected to be out 4 to 6 weeks. Do you think we could see him before the second half of November, or even as early as NOV 5TH? also where do you all see him fitting in? We obviously need him for the PK so I'm assuming he takes conachers roster spot.

[Edit] I just found out bailey is expected back for the road trip, so if coma chef is scratched for bailey where do we have room for grabber? Martin in the press box? (Boulton waived)

There will be another injury...it's just the way the hockey players crumble.

 

[islesjuncky]

I feel that when everyone is healthy he will be the odd man out. I wonder what he's worth.

 

[seafoam]

3rd round pick.

 

[JohnTonelliRises]

If Strait is still on the IR or scratched, I'm sure Grabner won't be traded any time soon.

People forget just how good Grabner is... His speed is not exactly something you find everyday..


You rotate him every so often with other players... And remember it's an 82 game season.. every players need to recover from being banged up.


Grabner for a 3rd round pick is not only a ripoff, but a complete waste.

Grabner is a pretty big asset for this team guys.

 

[rikker]

3rd or 4th liner, with PP abilities. just doesn't have the hands or sense to be top 6.

3rd rounder, or if we can get him working real well, a 2nd. great depth guy, but i think that we have some decent depth on the farm. Persson, Sundstrom, Halmo, Mouillerat, Zolnierczyk, McDonald...

if we can get a late 2nd or early 3rd, i say we do it.

 

[Islanderfan17]

3rd or 4th liner, with PP abilities. just doesn't have the hands or sense to be top 6.

3rd rounder, or if we can get him working real well, a 2nd. great depth guy, but i think that we have some decent depth on the farm. Persson, Sundstrom, Halmo, Mouillerat, Zolnierczyk, McDonald...

if we can get a late 2nd or early 3rd, i say we do it.

No. Just no. Grabner is worth more than a 3rd.... and I see no reason to trade him still, I'd rather him in the line up over Bailey. He can score, he has speed, he's great on the PK.

 

[rikker]

No. Just no. Grabner is worth more than a 3rd.... and I see no reason to trade him still, I'd rather him in the line up over Bailey. He can score, he has speed, he's great on the PK.

this is not enough, really, to be considered very valuable.

if you are a stats guy, you might point to his 2 goals in 5 games, but let's expand all the stats. over 82 games. 40 goals. 0 assists. -48. anything stand out? Strait, pro-rated would be a -37, and we are pretty much in agreement that he shouldn't be in the bigs.

we won't win much with a bunch of one dimensional players. and this is what Grabner is. depth players do not get you 2nd round picks or better.

 

[BillD]

this is not enough, really, to be considered very valuable.

if you are a stats guy, you might point to his 2 goals in 5 games, but let's expand all the stats. over 82 games. 40 goals. 0 assists. -48. anything stand out? Strait, pro-rated would be a -37, and we are pretty much in agreement that he shouldn't be in the bigs.

we won't win much with a bunch of one dimensional players. and this is what Grabner is. depth players do not get you 2nd round picks or better.

His minus numbers are inclusive of the bad luck of coming back during that horrendous 3 game stretch where we gave up 17 goals to St. Lou and Minni. He has played on some pretty terrible Islanders teams, scoring 34, 20, equal 30 in the shortened season, then his bad season, 12 in 64, equal to 16 over 82 games. That's an average of 25 goals over 4 years. Really, you are going to bring up +/-? On what this team has been. We all know that +/- is not a great measure, so what do we make of the +10 season, the -18 season?
This play has usefulness to the Islanders, not to be considered in the grouping of Strait, PMB, Regin, Aucoin.
Ability to correctly assess ability and usefulness has plagued many an NHL GM, not to say just a few message board posters.

 

[rikker]

His minus numbers are inclusive of the bad luck of coming back during that horrendous 3 game stretch where we gave up 17 goals to St. Lou and Minni. He has played on some pretty terrible Islanders teams, scoring 34, 20, equal 30 in the shortened season, then his bad season, 12 in 64, equal to 16 over 82 games. That's an average of 25 goals over 4 years. Really, you are going to bring up +/-? On what this team has been. We all know that +/- is not a great measure, so what do we make of the +10 season, the -18 season?
This play has usefulness to the Islanders, not to be considered in the grouping of Strait, PMB, Regin, Aucoin.
Ability to correctly assess ability and usefulness has plagued many an NHL GM, not to say just a few message board posters.

a victim of bad luck, or a possible cause? when he scores, he's a good player, but when he's scored against, it's bad luck? you bring up goals as evidence of his usefulness, but think that disregarding his +/- is common sense? curious...

so why is he getting less than 13 minutes a game? is it possible that the coach and GM of this successful NHL team, know more than 'a few message board posters'?

we all agree that his speed is an asset. are you going to say that he has good hands? are you going to say that he has good awareness? are you going to say that he is physically imposing? he is known for his speed and inconsistent scoring. hardly a cornerstone of a hockey team.

if he was 22 or 23, i'd would value him more, as he would have room to grow. but he's 27. i don't expect that he'll be more than he is right now.

 

[seafoam]

I have a hard time believing Grabner, who's making 5M in salary next year, has more value than a 3rd round pick or middling prospect.

 

[A Pointed Stick]

this is not enough, really, to be considered very valuable.

if you are a stats guy, you might point to his 2 goals in 5 games, but let's expand all the stats. over 82 games. 40 goals. 0 assists. -48. anything stand out? Strait, pro-rated would be a -37, and we are pretty much in agreement that he shouldn't be in the bigs.

we won't win much with a bunch of one dimensional players. and this is what Grabner is. depth players do not get you 2nd round picks or better.

I agree with you Rik, but his numbers will improve. Coming off a big injury he will have rust. That said, 1 dimensional player is 1 dimensional. End result is still the same. It would be great to be able to keep him, but that $5M cap hit next year... let's put it this way, he'd better get up to .8 pts per game or he's likely a goner.

 

[BillD]

I agree with you Rik, but his numbers will improve. Coming off a big injury he will have rust. That said, 1 dimensional player is 1 dimensional. End result is still the same. It would be great to be able to keep him, but that $5M cap hit next year... let's put it this way, he'd better get up to .8 pts per game or he's likely a goner.

Yup, that was a Wang, back end loaded special. Who would take him with that hit unless he was scoring 30+?

I can't give much attention to his projected +/- on a 5 game sample during a period that the team got destroyed with 17 goals in 3 of those games. Talk about small sample size.
What I see with Grabner's record is a decline in shots and shooting % from year 1 to year 2. The year 1 numbers were 228 shots and unsustainable % of 14.9. Garth should have known that that was not sustainable. In year 2 he drops to 178 shots And his shooting % comes back to earth, 11.5%.
In the lockout season he plays 45 games, has 108 shots (close to 200 over a full season), and a 14.5 shooting percentage.
Last year was his only terrible year. Had 12 goals on 137 shots (extrapolated to 175 shots over the full season) and had a brutal 8.8 shooting %. But he was the leading goal scorer in the entire Olympics for Austria.
All this tells me is that Grabs has a good deal of inconsistency but had one bad season and can contribute value to the team.
I am not going to judge his extrapolated +/- over a season on 5 f the teams worst GA games. his defensive play is more than adequate and the player is a tweeter......between 2nd/3rd line.
No matter what, Garth will hold him this year for a playoff run depth, and next year his cap hit will almost assure that he remains unmoved.
We have to hope (not without prior evidence) that he returns to 200 shot/14% shooter. That doesn't happen by accident.

 

[scott99]

He AVERAGES 25 goals per 82 goals played. And his speed helps on the PK and it causes teams to take penalties. You don't just throw that away for a 3rd round pick. I'll take a healthy Grabner over Bailey any day of the week.