What happened to Michael Grabner

R S

Registered User
Sep 18, 2006
25,468
10
Just a change of scenery in general...and more than anything...a true chance.
 

CAPiTA

Registered User
Sep 4, 2008
2,383
12
Vancouver
When he's hot, he's hot. Wow. I didn't like the fact that we moved him the day the deal went down. He was dynamite with Kesler and Raymond, I could only imagine what he could be doing now...
 

petrocelli

I love the Draft!!
Jan 5, 2009
1,162
0
thank you Florida... via Vancouver...

The Panthers didn't need him... he wasn't young enough or didn't score enough for their rebuild. :shakehead
 

Tundra

Registered User
Oct 20, 2005
10,363
1,375
He escaped the 3rd line. It's amazing what happens when you get to play on a scoring line.
 

TruGr1t

Proper Villain
Jun 26, 2003
23,140
6,819
Nothing happened really; he's just an offensive prospect who went from the most potent offensive team in the league to a rebuilding squad that has no issues giving young guys important ice-time (see spot in standings). He simply could not break onto Vancouver's roster, and the Canucks don't really allow younger players time to establish their game because they're in 'win now' mode. If you're a rookie in the line-up you're there because you're already making an impact (see: Schneider). We couldn't really wait around for Grabner to catch fire, and Vigneault's a bit of an odd-ball when it comes to earning ice-time for younger guys.

I dunno what the hell Florida was thinking though.
 

Seph

Registered User
Sep 5, 2002
18,949
1,666
Oregon
Visit site
He's playing with so much more confidence now, and a lot of his scoring is coming from improved defensive play. He's playing a lot more aggressively in his own zone and is using his speed to break up plays and turn those into breakaways. Also, I think playing with Okposo and Nielsen has helped him, as both are highly reliable defensively, which allows him to play a more aggressive game, with less fear of making a costly defensive error. But what I've found most impressive about his offensive explosion is how the vast majority of his offensive chances are ones he's creating for himself.

I don't suspect he'll continue this torrid scoring pace, but if he can keep playing with this kind of confidence, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see him become a consistent 30+ goal scorer.
 

DrChill

Registered User
Dec 28, 2010
912
0
FSJ BC
Vancouver didn't have a place for him. He has always been a speedy scoring winger, not very good defensively. No Idea what Florida was thinking.
 

S E P H

Cloud IX
Mar 5, 2010
30,934
16,406
Toruń, PL
He was never given a legitimate chance. He's one of those players that needs to play top 6 minutes or he will be useless.
 

Lz68

Registered User
Jun 9, 2009
476
0
Vancouver didn't have a place for him. He has always been a speedy scoring winger, not very good defensively. No Idea what Florida was thinking.

Not really... Vancouver definitely could have used him on the second line, like last year, but he was basically became expendable with Raymond being similar player. Grabner probably has more potential upside then Raymond but it was a matter of if he would ever reach it with his streaky play.

In the end Gillis knew what he was giving up and it made sense to trade for an durable defenseman when you consider how the team has been plagued with injuries on the back end for the past five years.

As for Florida, the writing was on the wall for that one... Grabner has looked terrible in pretty much every preseason game he's ever played so expecting him to all of a sudden tear it up to make the team was a little foolish...
 

0123456789*

Guest
Not really... Vancouver definitely could have used him on the second line, like last year, but he was basically became expendable with Raymond being similar player. Grabner probably has more potential upside then Raymond but it was a matter of if he would ever reach it with his streaky play.

In the end Gillis knew what he was giving up and it made sense to trade for an durable defenseman when you consider how the team has been plagued with injuries on the back end for the past five years.

As for Florida, the writing was on the wall for that one... Grabner has looked terrible in pretty much every preseason game he's ever played so expecting him to all of a sudden tear it up to make the team was a little foolish...

Yes but he wasnt ready and he would never pass through waivers while there was no room for him on the Canucks who have a very deep team. Raymond on the other hand was and is also a much more rounded player, Grabner was and still is one dimensional(for now).

The best thing though is that its showing the Canucks investment in their developmental system starting to pay off. There a few other good prospects coming up on the team and next year Shirohkov will be in the same situation as Grabner. If he will be lucky then he will get a opportunity on a team where he can get icetime and he will be the next former Canuck prospect tearing it up. Nothing wrong with that.

Like everyone else mentioned though I dont see how Florida decided to waive Grabner, anyone who has watched him enough as a player knew that was the stupidest move to do for a team like Florida.
 

IslesNorway

Registered User
Apr 9, 2007
9,245
2,848
Nittedal, Norway
Guy's not really playing on a scoring line. He's playing with Nielsen who's an excellent defensive forward and Okposo who's more a power forward type that doesn't really score a lot. They all compliment eachother perfectly at the moment and Grabner has also gained confidence and makes great use of his speed. Simple things really.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad