The Toronto Maple Leafs swung a deal on the opening day of training camp to acquire forward Michael Grabner from the New York Islanders. The Leafs sent a package of five players including forward Taylor Beck, prospects Carter Verhaeghe, Matt Finn and Tom Nilsson as well as goaltender Christopher Gibson to New York.
Grabner, a former 30-goal scorer, has had a hard time staying healthy and keeping himself in the Isles lineup. Once a focal point of the offense, other players developed around him more rapidly and ended up bumping him down the depth chart.
That said, a change of scenery could be just what the doctor ordered for Grabner, whose second year in the NHL back in 2010-11 included 34 goals and 52 points. He’s been chasing that career mark ever since.
Over five seasons with the Islanders, Grabner appeared in 297 games, posting 144 points including 90 goals. Last year, he managed to play in just 34 contests, contributing 13 points while averaging under 13 minutes a game.
A former first-round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks, Grabner is still only 27, which suggests he’s got plenty to offer still if he can stay healthy.
Beck has the most NHL experience of those included in the deal going back to New York. He appeared in 62 games last season with the Nashville Predators and registered 16 points. He could provide some bottom-six depth for the Isles.
Also of interest to the Islanders should be Carter Verhaeghe, a former third-round pick, who posted 82 points in each of his last two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League. He’ll be a first-year pro and likely will spend time in the AHL to start, but he’s another intriguing forward in the Islanders already-deep prospect pool. Meanwhile, Christopher Gibson was a standout goalie for the Toronto Marlies in the AHL last season with a .921 save percentage. The Finnish netminder is just 22 years old and could provide some insurance within New York’s goalie pool.
A move like this suggests the Maple Leafs want to be more competitive than most are giving them credit for this season. Sending a large package of prospects that were primarily drafted under a former regime isn’t necessarily too high a price to pay for someone with Grabner’s potential.
For the Islanders, shedding Grabner’s contract is probably the biggest benefit in the short term. He’s on the last year of his current contract, which comes with a $3 million cap hit and $5 million in actual salary.
Part of the benefit for Toronto is that they eliminate a number of contracts against their limit, which gives them more flexibility to sign any of the veteran players they've invited to camp on tryout contracts including the likes of Curtis Glencross, Brad Boyes and Devin Setoguchi.
The key to this deal becoming a home run for Toronto is if Grabner can regain whatever it is he had earlier in his career and if he can stay healthy. The Austrian could provide good forward depth in what is expected to be a transitional year and if things don’t work out, they don’t have to worry about re-signing him and let his deal expire after the season.