Not a loss in the technical term, because we did obviously "lose" him, but do you feel that he's missed...at all?
Considering we got Lang and Pateryn for him, I would say that he's not
Considering he couldn't produce with the likes of Kovalev and Andrei Kostitsyn, I definitely think he's not
However, I had an argument with a Leafs fan who seems to think he'll get over 25 goals this year and he thinks that we will indeed miss him.
I know that I'm "that guy who wants the Habs board to settle the debate", but considering he's actually done ok in preseason, maybe the vote will be interesting.
He could score 30 goals this year (not gonna happen) and I wouldn't miss him. The dude is smaller and weaker than Koivu and Plekanec except not as talented and much worse defensively. So not even considering the Lang signing, he doesn't fit in with us at center. Let's look if he fits in with us a winger... well, no... not even close to being a top 9 winger with us and not nearly the type of winger we need now or in the future.
Once again, he would have failed to make the team, behind Koivu, Plekanec and Lang as offensive centers. And since he's no checker, he would have also been behind Lapierre and Chipchura. I like what I saw of Maxwell at camp so it's not a loss by any mean, especially taking in consideration his lousy attitude.
I don't think so, cause from what i've seen when he played with the habs he looked decent but he wasn't able to go in the corners without getting his ass kicked.
I didnt vote, but hes really been great for us over in Toronto thusfar. He's had some good chemistry with Hagman and Kulemin (before he got injured). I'll be the first to admit most of us were not too happy about it at the time, but the guy is all heart and determination out there. I was suprised that a guy his size is willing to go into the corners and take a check, but there he is. Hes quickly becomming a fan favourite.
I think the reason he had a hard time with the guys you mentioned is that he needs to be the freewheeler on his line and I doubt he was that with Kost and Kovy. Not his or Montreal's fault, just not the best fit together.
I know its preseason, but hes been almost if not a ppg guy and pretty much ALWAYS creates chances when hes out there. Hes becomming a fan favourite pretty fast.
But then again, you got Lang, who you needed so I cant see many of you complaining either. Turned out to be a pretty fair trade I'd say
He wasn't really what we needed but I still think he has a good potential. I hope he does well with the leafs, their fans deserve at least that. For us it was a tremendous trade, we got Lang and Pateryn for a player who ... wouldn't even have made the team! wow!
I think this is one of those cases where his performance with the Leafs won't make any difference to my evaluation as to whether he's missed. He just wasn't going to cut it here. If he goes on to have a super season with the Leafs, then maybe the second-guessers will ask why he didn't get the opportunity here. But I have no doubt that he just would not have had the chance here to have the kind of season that he might have in Toronto.
Ultimately, I think Lang + Pateryn for Grabovski is exactly the kind of deal that made the most of the situation from the Habs POV. They had an NHL ready prospect with no place to play, so they traded him and eventually got the veteran RH center with offensive credentials and faceoffs that they've been looking for since forever. And they also managed to get a decent prospect, really a project who's several years away but in no rush anyway.
In fact, when you look at Lang as a trade deadline rental, usually the market is such that the Habs would be adding a prospect like Pateryn (or a draft choice higher than a 5th) along with a player/prospect like Grabovski.
Well if it continues on that path, if Lang doesn't deliver, if Pateryn doesn't become what I think he could.....well then, sure a loss. But a loss is never a loss until you know what you gained from it....(does that make sense???)
My biggest problem is that I would have love to see him on a 3rd offensive line like we're having right now. But his flaws are still flaws and let's see when the real season kick in how he handles himself. But surely, he's one of their most talented centerman, he plays a lot so he'll have some stats unless he blew it.
Anyway, I like this 'cause if he surprises and makes the Leafs better than they were before him, they still won't make the playoffs but lose any chances to get the first picks.....that would be a shame....
Having said all of that, it's pretty clear who had a good preseason and who didn't....I'm waiting to see a thread entitled....Ryder....a loss???
I said he'd have a breakout year when he was traded. It's not so much that we lost a skilled young player, it's that this team is a contender and there's no room for him.
It's no different than trading a good young goalie, you may not get fair value but at least you got something and made your team stronger for the present.
I can't really see how he would've made the team, so it's hard for me to consider it a loss. Maybe for Hamilton? When I evaluate whether or not I'd rather have Lang or Grabovski, there's no question I'd take the former, considering a 3rd offensive center on the Canadiens is more important to the club than a proficient goal scorer in Hamilton with no chance to make the club.
Also keep in mind that being a 25 goal scorer on the 08/09 Toronto Maple Leafs doesn't necessarily mean he'd be one on our team.
That said I hope he's a good fit in Toronto and wish him all the best. Just not against Montreal.
Grabovski will have to bring alot to Toronto because they paid an awfully high price to get him. We didn't just get back a Janne Ninimaa... Lang brings something we didn't have. A big center with a right handed shot. Pateryn also looks very promising.
With Maxwell, Pacioretty, & D'Agostini in our system we could afford to trade him away. We were able to get Lang & Pateryn so I say it was a very good trade & he wouldn't have made the team in a scoring role anyways.
Grabovski will have a strong career on the Maple Leafs because they need him. I think he'll end up being a 60 point centerman for the Leafs because he'll fulfill a first line center position for a season or two, then move to second line once the Leafs have acquired some hotshot center through Drafting (Tavares, Schenn, take your pick), which still means he'll get Top 6 time with kids with huge potential (Tlusty, Kulemin, Earl, Steen) and veterans with upside (Blake and Antropov) so they will surely beef up his stats.
Now, that said, Toronto also is one of the worst teams for squandering youth. It isn't just trading them away, its also using them incorrectly and they just disappear. This could certainly happen to Mikhail Grabovski. He doesn't perform or floats a little too much, they toss him aside, he either leaves to Europe or goes to another team and performs just fine as a second line center.
Anyway, to repeat, I think Grabovski could be a 60 point centerman, but even then, it was worth the trade.
He's gotten several goals in the preseason and the leafs fans say he is strong in the corners. I could see him getting 25 goals this season, he will be getting decent minutes.
He was never going to become THE player we wanted him to become in Montreal.
There should be no regret, even if he turns out to be a great player in Toronto, he would have never been that great if he played for Montreal.
I will rarely buy a comment like that. Put a guy like him at the center of Higgins and SKosty and he might have been able to do something. I also don't but the "cancer" comment 'cause we only know for sure of one fact. That he left the team at some point. Does he automatically needs to be traded because of that. He's young, you explain to him that he can't never do that again, he doesn't, gain maturity and succeed. 'Cause again, I have to know how come journalists are not to be trusted unless....they write something about a player we don't like or was traded.
Habs didn't believe that Grabovski would turn out to be a player and traded them for really interesting picks. At the time, I loved the trade. Loved the pick and after seeing him at the dev. camp, loved Pateryn. Since then, and I'm not even talking about how Grabs did in preseason, I'm not certain I would've traded a 2nd round pick for Lang.....If Lang does great and we go far in the playoffs who cares about Grabovski.
But to say that he would have never done anything, that he was a cancer and so on.....who are we to know that?
