Maple Leafs Find A Way To Keep Mikhail Grabovski
Brian Burke, President and General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced Tuesday that the hockey club has agreed to terms on a five-year contract with forward Mikhail Grabovski. As per club policy, financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. "We are extremely pleased to have Mikhail under contract for the next five seasons,” said Burke. “His speed and skill are valuable commodities and fit perfectly with our style of play. He leads by example and his work ethic speaks for itself." Grabovski, 28, has registered 45 points (20 goals, 25 assists), a plus-seven (+7) rating and 18 penalty minutes in 59 games with the Maple Leafs this season. The 5-11, 183-pound centreman currently ranks first on Toronto in plus/minus and third in goals and points in 2011-12, and he was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week for the period ending January 30. The native of Minsk, Belarus has appeared in 304 career NHL games with Montreal (2006-07 to 2007-08) and Toronto (2008-09 to present), registering 82 goals, 113 assists, 195 points and 188 penalty minutes. The Leafs acquired Grabovski on July 3, 2008 from the Canadiens in exchange for the rights to Greg Pateryn and Toronto’s second round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft. He was originally selected by Montreal in the fifth round, 150th overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. |
CONTRACT DETAILS: Length: 5 Years (2012-13 - 2016-17) Cap-Hit: $5,500,000 Pay-Out Details:
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Another big-name has decided to re-sign with his current club, and bypass his shot at unrestricted free-agency. Mikhail Grabovski was one of the players that was expected by most to test the market, and with this signing I'm sure many teams will need to re-evaluate who they'll look to acquire in the off-season because of it.
The five-year deal will bring him to the age of thirty-three which means he'll be playing his prime years in Toronto. With that being considered his large annual salary becomes a bit bearable, but its still worth noting that he'll be the second highest paid Toronto Maple Leaf and will be earning more money than Phil Kessel. The reason why I'm more accepting of this over-payment than most other examples, is simply due to the unimpressive crop of remaining pending free-agents. Not many quality players are left, and general managers like Brian Burke, realize that they will need to throw big money at their pending free agents because it will be very hard to replace any players of value. It explains the bloated contracts - like this one - that have been handed out.
Looking past the terms, the Leafs are locking up a very good top-six center and for a club in their position it is essential that they keep the working parts together. On pace for his second straight 50+ point season, his contributions have been key to the Toronto Maple Leafs' offense. For a guy that consistently gets knocked for his defensive play, he's also had very impressive plus/minus numbers. Last season he led the Leafs with a plus-14 (next highest was plus-8), and this season he's leading the Maple Leafs again with a plus-7.
His play has been improving year-to-year, and with this new long-term stability he should continue to flourish with the Leafs.
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