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Was the Grabovski move a good one?


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I think many of us had high hopes that Mikhail Grabovski might have developed into a slick playmaking centerman. He had shown flashes of quickness with some good moves, but he couldn't crack our lineup on a regular basis and showed last year when he left the team for a day or so that he was unhappy with not getting solid playing time. So when we traded him to Toronto, who have a much weaker core of forwards, I think many thought this might be Grabovski's chance to shine.

Even though it's still early in the season, and things could turn around, after 6 games Grabovski has no goals, no assists and is -1. And it's not like he hasn't played in the NHL before and is going thru a period of adjusting to the speed. Pierre Mcquire said yesterday that he thought Grabovski was an AHL scorer, but maybe not an NHL scorer. And the radio call in talk in Toronto is beginning to wonder whether Grabovski has it to be an NHL'er.

So picking up a second round pick from a Toronto team that will likely finish near the bottom of the pack for the next two years or so may turn out to be another great deal, or steal! However this turns out I think it was a great deal for Montreal.

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I never really liked Grabovsky. HE might have talent, but he's just another smallish forward and the Habs have two of those(KOivu and Plex however both of them have more talent).

THe fact that we will get a high 2nd round pick(which will be between 35th and 40th overall) is just great.

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You answered your own question but that 2nd rounder was traded to get Lang. It winds up being a cheap, young, mediocre C for a better but older and more expensive C (and Greg Pateryn, a D prospect the Leafs had just picked in the 5th round). Still a good move.

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So picking up a second round pick from a Toronto team that will likely finish near the bottom of the pack for the next two years or so may turn out to be another great deal, or steal! However this turns out I think it was a great deal for Montreal.

as well as a second pick we got a big Dman in Greg Pateryn who's listed at 6'2 223

Unfortunately we don't own that 2nd pick anymore for it was used in the Lang trade.

in the end we traded grabovski for Lang and Greg Pateryn !!

does anyone think that the Leafs won that one ??

MG is a great offensive player but he's not strong enough to stay full time in the league. besides, that episode of him leaving the team to go cry t his agent's door last year told alot about his caracter.

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I think I already said this in another thread, but when he was traded Grabovski had no future in MTL. So, that means BG got Lang and a prospect for a player without a future in MTL. Unless Grabs becomes super for TO, we have won this trade handily.

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I think many of us had high hopes that Mikhail Grabovski might have developed into a slick playmaking centerman. He had shown flashes of quickness with some good moves, but he couldn't crack our lineup on a regular basis and showed last year when he left the team for a day or so that he was unhappy with not getting solid playing time. So when we traded him to Toronto, who have a much weaker core of forwards, I think many thought this might be Grabovski's chance to shine.

Even though it's still early in the season, and things could turn around, after 6 games Grabovski has no goals, no assists and is -1. And it's not like he hasn't played in the NHL before and is going thru a period of adjusting to the speed. Pierre Mcquire said yesterday that he thought Grabovski was an AHL scorer, but maybe not an NHL scorer. And the radio call in talk in Toronto is beginning to wonder whether Grabovski has it to be an NHL'er.

So picking up a second round pick from a Toronto team that will likely finish near the bottom of the pack for the next two years or so may turn out to be another great deal, or steal! However this turns out I think it was a great deal for Montreal.

Grabovski is not NHL caliber and will never be. Some of his skills are. But the overall player is not.

fantasy games wise, his skating would be 99, his vision 80ish, his shot 70ish.

However, his balance is 10, his strenght is 5 LOL

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Grabovski is not NHL caliber and will never be. Some of his skills are. But the overall player is not.

fantasy games wise, his skating would be 99, his vision 80ish, his shot 70ish.

However, his balance is 10, his strenght is 5 LOL

Reminds me of Miroschnischenko. :lol:

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There was no point for Montreal to keep Grabovski around, especially since he was becoming very unhappy feeling he wasn't gettnig the chance he deserves. Therefore, also considering that he was an unproven player who was far from a sure thing, getting a 2nd round pick and what I think is a pretty decent defensive prospect was actually a very good trade.

As for Grabovski, it's too early to judge him after only 6 games, especially since he's not exactly playing in the best context for his development. He has some great skills, but first needs to learn to play against much bigger, tougher, and faster NHL-level opponents; this could take a couple months, a whole season, or it might never happen. In addition, he's currently playing in the huge mess that are the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team with no identity that is currently looking for leadership, chemistry, the right players, the right lines, the right strategies... right now Ron Wilson is telling his players to shoot the puck and go to the net, so they're still at step 1.

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Watched Grabs play in Toronto last week and he showed very good positioning, speed and hands. The jury is still out on this guy I think.

Your posting this on boards where people are talking about giving up on Latendresse. Grabovsky is much older, of course he's washed up. Get with the program.

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Your posting this on boards where people are talking about giving up on Latendresse. Grabovsky is much older, of course he's washed up. Get with the program.

hehehe Grabs = Ribs 2.0 :B)

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hehehe Grabs = Ribs 2.0 :B)

Now that is insulting. Grabs doesn't dive like a classless punk. One of the biggest blights in Canadiens' history when he flopped against the Bruins then laughed on the bench. I'd pay real money to see Ribs utterly destroyed by someone on the ice. A good Komi hit like the one on Kosty would be perfect.

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hehehe Grabs = Ribs 2.0 :B)

Actually that equation is unbalanced, it's missing Morrow 2.0, and it's back order right now.

Until Grabs will put up 80ish points in the NHL, Ribeiro = Grabs 7.0.

Will Ribeiro even put up another 80ish point season in the rest of his career?

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Ribeiro is a good hockey player. Yes, he was immature, back when he was 22 - as were/are many people on this board. Now he's 28 (or whatever) and has, unsurprisingly, matured into an effective, even elite, offensive player, albeit with permanent limitations to his game (e.g., he'll always be physically overmatched in some cases). He is a key part of Dallas' offence. That was a terrible trade, although thanks to the emergence of Plekanec it hasn't hurt us; and we're just kidding ourselves if we keep insisting that he sucks. He's good, we dumped him just as he was coming into his prime, that was dumb, get over it.

Now, as for Grabovski. I like him, he's fun to watch and blindingly fast. Will he ever be more than an Oleg Petrov? It's almost inconceivable. Best case scenario is he blooms into a limited but tolerably productive second-line pivot (Petrov). Lang is essentially a glorified rental, who will probably be gone after this season. The prospect remains unproven. So I'd say that's a reasonable trade - a possible Oleg petrov for a solid rental C in a possible Cup-run year - but one that could look questionable if, first, Grabs does become Petrov II; and second, the Habs fail to evolve at C over the next 2-3 seasons and end up with nobody decent besides Plekanec. The odds of both of these things happening is probably fairly slim. So I doubt he's Ribeiro 2.0 - which is a good thing for us.

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Ribeiro is a good hockey player. Yes, he was immature, back when he was 22 - as were/are many people on this board. Now he's 28 (or whatever) and has, unsurprisingly, matured into an effective, even elite, offensive player, albeit with permanent limitations to his game (e.g., he'll always be physically overmatched in some cases). He is a key part of Dallas' offence. That was a terrible trade, although thanks to the emergence of Plekanec it hasn't hurt us; and we're just kidding ourselves if we keep insisting that he sucks. He's good, we dumped him just as he was coming into his prime, that was dumb, get over it.

One of the best trades made by the Habs. Addition by subtraction - get room of a locker room problem and a massive ego. Maybe he's grown up in Dallas, but he was never going to do that in Montreal where he had a feeling of entitlement. He believed the ridiculous hype that said he was the next great player.

And elite? Really? I'll give him above average when he concentrates.

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I agree with Colin. I couldn't care less what we got for him and, judging by the return, neither did Gainey. Just like in Theo's case, he was never going to reach his potential here so there was really no reason to hang on to him. You're dreaming if you think he would have broken 80 points in Montreal.

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Now that is insulting. Grabs doesn't dive like a classless punk. One of the biggest blights in Canadiens' history when he flopped against the Bruins then laughed on the bench. I'd pay real money to see Ribs utterly destroyed by someone on the ice. A good Komi hit like the one on Kosty would be perfect.

Meh it's said Ribs popped his shoulder or smacked a nerve on that play, who knows? I know the Habs cultivated Ribs for many years, then let him go below what would become his value. Maybe that had to be done. Anyway personally I have nothing against Ribs, but interesting the comparison to Grabs brought such responses hehe.

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Meh it's said Ribs popped his shoulder or smacked a nerve on that play, who knows? I know the Habs cultivated Ribs for many years, then let him go below what would become his value. Maybe that had to be done. Anyway personally I have nothing against Ribs, but interesting the comparison to Grabs brought such responses hehe.

Yer just happy to start controvercy from your insulated Japanese hideout.

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Yer just happy to start controvercy from your insulated Japanese hideout.

Hey this is the internet we're all cyber-insulated!

BTW I was sitting in the reds at the Habs home opener vs Bruins last week, exciting although I wish the boys would have played harder in the second and third period . . .

trades = you win some you lose some, and only time tells which.

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Actually that equation is unbalanced, it's missing Morrow 2.0, and it's back order right now.

Will Ribeiro even put up another 80ish point season in the rest of his career?

he might break 80 sticks but I don't see 80 points a year in his future. :lol:

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