While listening to the radio side of Leafs Lunch 1050 Thursday afternoon, it was announced that the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders reached a deal that included 6 players.
Union and Blue
Going to Toronto is Michael Grabner who has 1 year left on his deal at 4 million. To the Islanders goes 5 prospects in Taylor Beck, Matt Finn, Tom Nilsson, Christopher Gibson, and Carter Verhaegue.
Host’s Bryan Hayes, Jeff O’Neill, and Jamie McClennan speculate that Leafs management had likely decided they’d seen enough from these prospects and that they didn’t fit the mold of what the Leafs were looking to do moving forward.
I see it similarily. Chances are, these 5 guys were never going to be anything more than depth players or mediocre bottom-end roster guys. Fact is, Leafs have plenty of that on the current roster and in the system already.
Mar 15, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Nashville Predators left wing Taylor Beck (41) before the game against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Proper development can be a bit touchy. Maybe if you kept these guys, you hurt another players development with more diminished ice-time. So perhaps the need was there to open up space for other prospects to have a chance to emerge.
However you see it, I share the same sentiment as the Hosts of Leafs Lunch, you just hope none of these 5 guys go on to be something like many of the ghosts of Leafs past.
Sounds as though the Twitter community and hosts of Leafs lunch have a more positive outlook on Grabner than I do. Lots of talk about his recent injury history, but hearing rumblings of him having top 6 ability.
I think those days have come and gone. It’s being played out as if the problem the Islanders had with him was the injuries, but I don’t think that’s the case. We’re talking about a guy who was being overpaid and not producing nearly anywhere close to the money he was being paid.
This is a guy who was rumoured to be bought out by the Islanders. What Grabner does is rather irrelevant though. There’s only a year left on the deal, and he’s probably not a guy who’s gonna help you win long-term.
This could just be a case of opportunity knocks. He’ll likely get opportunities for a top 6 role, so you might be able to showcase him and flip him as a rental at the trade deadline. Just don’t look for this guy to have much of an impact.
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