Season Preview: Michael Grabner

Michael Grabner

Position: Right Wing
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 187 lbs
Birthdate: October 5, 1987 (24 years old)
Birthplace: Villach, Austria
Acquired: Claimed Off Waivers from Florida Panthers, 2010

2010-2011 Team: New York Islanders
2010-2011 Stats: 76 GP - 34 G - 18 A - 52 P - 10 PIM
2011-2012 Team: New York Islanders
Team Role: Top Six Forward

Last year: Grabner was property of three NHL organizations from the end of the 2009-10 season to the start of the 2010-11 season. In short, it was a whirlwind summer for Grabner. First, he was traded at the draft to the Florida Panthers from the Vancouver Canucks in a deal involving Keith Ballard. After a lackluster training camp, he was waived by Dale Tallon and the Panthers. Luckily for Grabner, his career was about to change forever. A major shoulder injury to Kyle Okposo made the Islanders desperate for offense. Knowing Grabner's history as a first rounder, Garth Snow and the Islanders took a chance on the Austrian forward. After a slow start, Grabner's speed took over as he combined with Frans Nielsen and Okposo for the last 40 games of the season as the Isles most productive line. Thirty-four goals later, and a trip to Las Vegas as a finalist for the Calder Trophy, the Islanders locked Grabner up to a five-year extension.

Expectations: Expectations for Grabner are really all over the map. There's no reason that he shouldn't replicate his performance last year, and the fact that he is able to use his speed for a seemingly prime scoring chance every game should help him get there. He is expected to stay on a line with Nielsen and Okposo, and if their chemistry holds over for the season, they will be the Islanders best all-around line. He is an extremely dangerous threat on the penalty kill, and if he gets more powerplay time, he will have the opportunity for even more scoring chances. Right now, Grabner is one of the best forwards on the team and there is no reason for that to change as he starts the first year of his new contract.

Projections: GP 80 - 33 G - 24 A - 57 P

Thoughts: 

CH: Grabner has turned into an absolute coup by Snow. For whatever reason they picked him up, he turned into something special and has really improved the amount of offensive talent on the team and in the system. He may be the fastest skater in the league, he has better hands than he is given credit for, and he is a solid three-zone player. What has helped him is the fact that his confidence grew exponentially after Jack Capuano took over for Scott Gordon last season. Since the coaching change, Grabner has developed into a legitimate top-six player and was even nominated as a finalist for the Calder Trophy last year (losing out to Jeff Skinner). The Islanders are certainly lucky to have a player like Grabner locked up for the next five seasons.

AT: Dumpster diving off the waivers list? More like plucking diamonds out of a clogged sink. It's amazing how so many teams passed up on Grabner, even when he put up great stats in 20 games with the Canucks. His speed alone should land him on the top line on any NHL team, and I'm glad that one team happened to be the Islanders. With a player with such amazing hockey sense as Frans Nielsen as his center, replicating his 34 goals and possibly surpassing them shouldn't be too much of a problem. Even if he comes close, the fact that we got 2 30 goal scorers from the most unlikely of places is such a positive thing for this team. 

NHL Awards: Doug Weight wins King Clancy trophy, Michael Grabner falls short of Calder

At the 2011 NHL Awards hosted by Jay Mohr, the Islanders and their fans were greeted with a fantastic surprise: Doug Weight was awarded the King Clancy trophy for his contributions both on and off the ice to the community.

AT: This was a fantastic surprise that sent goosebumps running down my arms. With everything we know about how Doug has helped the team both when healthy and injured on the bench helping Capuano as well as his contributions on Long Island, we all know this was a very well deserved award. The trophy, presented by the US Army and brought out by a platoon of about 20 soldiers most likely coming from Nellis Air Force Base, some of whom rappelled down from the rafters, was given to Doug in such an awesome way. Good for the NHL for organizing that. As for Doug's acceptance speech, what more can you ask for from this guy? He talked up Long Island pretty much the entire speech, spoke of it as an amazing place to live (which was much needed after Jay Mohr's crack at the Isles attendance in his monologue), was extremely grateful for Wang and Snow's hospitality and graciousness through his time so far with the Islanders and generally put the Islanders in an extremely positive light. I still can't stop smiling.

CH: What a great surprise this was. You pretty much touched on it all. Weight didn't have to do anything as far as selling the team, but he did. That's just classic Weight though - humble as ever. The moment with the troops was fantastic as well. Some may find it tacky and cheesy, but why be cynical about this? It meant a lot to Doug, and was a cool moment to watch unfold. Great job all around. Congrats to Doug, well deserved!

New York Islanders

AT: Michael Grabner unfortunately lost the Calder to Jeff Skinner, something almost everyone expected. Just the fact that he got the nomination was fantastic for him and let's hope he's a nominee for the Hart trophy one day. Well deserved for Skinner who was the youngest of the three candidates and absolutely exploded offensively. Can't wait to see what he does for this Carolina team in the future.

CH: Islander fans seem to be very disappointed by this, but realistically Skinner was the right and obvious choice here. The age argument shouldn't matter, but it does. Plus, he led all rookies in points as well. Have to give him credit where it's due - congratulations to Skinner on a great achievement. But a lot to take from this from Grabner's perspective. He scored 34 goals last season and got rewarded with a trip to Las Vegas. Definitely a season to build on for Michael.

New York Islanders

AT: As for the other awards, congratulations to Dan Bylsma on winning the Jack Adams award, Ryan Kesler on winning the Selke, Lidstrom on winning the Norris (at 41!), and the rest of the winners tonight. All nominations have been well deserved and all winners even more so.

Around The NHL: Drew Stafford, Winnipeg, Game 2

TSN is reporting that Buffalo Sabres forward Drew Stafford has signed a 4 year, $16 million extension with the team that will keep him under contract until the 2015 offseason. The 25 year old forward had 31 goals and 52 points last season. 

CH: Pretty slow news day in the NHL today, so this is our substitution for the top 5 countdown. Regarding this move by the Sabres, this is exactly what they needed. In recent years, Buffalo has suffered somewhat of an exodus of players leaving from players such as Chris Drury and Danny Briere to lesser "name" players such as Toni Lydman and Henrik Tallinder. Stafford is clearly a member of the Sabres core at this point and deserves every cent of this contract. Keep in mind that from an Islanders perspective, Michael Grabner is two years younger, scored more points, and is earning one million less per year (on the cap) than Stafford. That doesn't imply the Stafford deal is a bad one, but actually shows how great the Grabner deal could be for the Islanders.

AT: Great move by the Sabres. Stafford is going to be a continuous goalscorer in this league. He was very impressive in the times I saw him play the Isles.

In other news, TSN is also reporting the new Winnipeg team has sold 55% of it's season ticket quota of 13,000 as of yesterday. 

AT: Update as of 4:30 PM - Done. Congrats to Winnipeg... you guys showed you're definitely involved and ready to support the new team.

CH: With sales opening to the general public tomorrow, the team will have no problem getting the remaining 45%. The only question will be how fast the rest of the tickets go. This is exactly what needed to happen with the recent announcement of the Atlanta Thrashers moving to Winnipeg. With this step over halfway completed, it will be interesting to see how True North responds from a hockey operations standpoint. Who will they keep? Who will they let go? Can they sign Andrew Ladd to a contract extension? Are free agents going to sign there? It will be very interesting to see what direction the new Winnipeg team goes in.

Finally, Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals is tonight at 8 PM (EST) on NBC. It should be another great battle.

AT: Do we get more biting?! Tell me we get more biting!