The Maple Leafs gave up forwards Taylor Beck and Carter Verhaeghe, defensemen Matt Finn and Tom Nilsson and goaltender Christopher Gibson.
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“We acquired an experienced player with one year left on his contract”, Leafs assistant GM Lou Lamoriello said of Grabner, acknowledged as one of the fastest players in the league, who has 95 goals and 60 assists in 317 career NHL games.
“I think every one of the players, there’s a fresh start”. The deep Islanders forward ranks resulted in Grabner serving as a healthy scratch in multiple instances last season, but the 27-year-old has shown some scoring chops when given regular minutes. The Maple Leafs’ third-round (82nd overall) pick in the 2013 draft, Verhaeghe won gold with Team Canada at the 2013 under-18 world junior championships.
The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Michael Grabner on Thursday.
Grabner is entering the final year of a contract that carries a $3-million cap hit but pays him $5 million in actual salary this year.
Toronto has players going to camp on PTO’s (Brad Boyes, Devin Setoguchi and Curtis Glencross), so they needed some contract space if they were going to sign any of those players. 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.
Grabner has now become the eighth quality impending UFA on the Leafs roster, and he has a great chance of finishing the season elsewhere.
Finn, the Leafs second rounder in 2012, split time between the AHL Toronto Marlies and ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears in his first pro season, but appeared sluggish at last week’s Rookie Tournament in London, ON. “We’ve seen enough of him to know that”.
A move like this suggests the Maple Leafs want to be more competitive than most are giving them credit for this season. Grabner isn’t a building block, but he can be a valuable role player for any team he plays for.
“I definitely feel I’m capable, especially considering most of my goals came when I was playing with teams who weren’t really (powerhouses)”, he added.
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Nilsson, a defenseman from Sweden, played in 44 AHL games for Toronto last season, his first in North America. His best: 34 goals, 18 assists in 76 games with the 2010-11 Isles.
