Grabner's Ice Time?

[OlTimeHockey]

In a sense, the Isles have a unique situation with Grabner. He can play on any line and be equally dangerous. So I kinda like him as a 10-15 minute player.

I'd play him with two energy guys who are responsible defensively and can be aware enough to look for a breakout pass. Nielsen was great at that. Reasoner's generally a pretty bad player but he's consistent. Maybe it's time to get Aucoin back in and Reasoner sits. Both Aucoin and Cizikas could work well with Grabs.

I don't like him with JT but it's worth a shot.

Let's face it, things aren't working, the Isles will miss the playoffs if they don't improve significantly. I don't think that can happen unless this very same group of players do better, both offensively AND defensively.

Moulson - Tavares - Martin
Bailey - Cizikas - Boyes
Grabner - Nielsen - McDonald
Ullstrom - Aucoin - Okposo

Maybe these provide enough balance on every line, some bite, some energy, some offense and much more defense.

In a sense, it's a first line, and three third lines. But may help significantly at even strength.

Nice. Balanced. Martin will surprise, sure, but so will Cizikas and McDonald.

 

[leeroggy]

Last night's game was a bit of an outlier. Capuano was trying to match Nielsen's line against Nash and Nash played a ton last night. Not to say that Grabner should have played a lot more earlier in the game but in the third it was more a game of match-ups.

 

[redbull]

Last night's game was a bit of an outlier. Capuano was trying to match Nielsen's line against Nash and Nash played a ton last night. Not to say that Grabner should have played a lot more earlier in the game but in the third it was more a game of match-ups.

Thought Nash was excellent yesterday. I know HF hates him and thinks he's overrated, maybe his popular "pts/game" stats don't wow you based on the salary - but boy, he can be a tough player to handle.

It was tough watching Hickey and MacDonald out there but I'll admit they handled themselves well, given the overmatched challenge they were up against!

We need Finley and Carker's size, who can skate like Hickey and AMac, and have the talent of a Streit/Visnovsky. That's what we need.

Is that Reinhart? (no pressure)

Or Seth Jones? (yes. TANK you very much)

Or nobody who's going to be an Islander anytime soon, since those players don't really exist.

 

[SI]

I don't even think it's a coaching decision.

Grabner just takes short shifts. It's what he does. Either he gets tired quick or he has that sense of energy conservation. Some guys know they'll wear out quickly if that don't take short and concentrated shifts. And heck, who are we to say how much energy he burns off every time he skates past a guy from 0-to-100 in just seconds? I'm sure that takes its toll...

Other guys simply take longer shifts, like Okposo for example.

What?

This is not a question of taking shorter shifts- Absolutely not.
He is NOT getting top 6 minutes. Bailey Okposo and Fransi
Played 17 mins. Compared to Grabner's line.
he should be reinstated on the left side of Nielsen.

 

[It Was 4 to 1*]

the sad thing is, capuano probably thinks it was warranted because grabner took that penalty in ot

 

[Veteran journeyman]

Don't get me started on this topic! Grabner with 10 goals. The entire second line? 5 goals. But people are going to try to say that crowd is better at hockey than Grabner. Let's see them score in three straight games with Reasoner as their center. In fact...let's see them get three goals!

 

[xIsle]

In a sense, the Isles have a unique situation with Grabner. He can play on any line and be equally dangerous. So I kinda like him as a 10-15 minute player.

I'd play him with two energy guys who are responsible defensively and can be aware enough to look for a breakout pass. Nielsen was great at that. Reasoner's generally a pretty bad player but he's consistent. Maybe it's time to get Aucoin back in and Reasoner sits. Both Aucoin and Cizikas could work well with Grabs.

I don't like him with JT but it's worth a shot.

Let's face it, things aren't working, the Isles will miss the playoffs if they don't improve significantly. I don't think that can happen unless this very same group of players do better, both offensively AND defensively.

Moulson - Tavares - Martin
Bailey - Cizikas - Boyes
Grabner - Nielsen - McDonald
Ullstrom - Aucoin - Okposo

Maybe these provide enough balance on every line, some bite, some energy, some offense and much more defense.

In a sense, it's a first line, and three third lines. But may help significantly at even strength.

I think this is a nice line-up. Much better than Capuano's. With this line-up you can roll four lines and you will not "gas-out" the players.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

What?

This is not a question of taking shorter shifts- Absolutely not.
He is NOT getting top 6 minutes. Bailey Okposo and Fransi
Played 17 mins. Compared to Grabner's line.
he should be reinstated on the left side of Nielsen.

Well, aside from him being on the third line as opposed to the current Okposo-Nielsen-Bailey line (which is currently the 'second' and also a PP line, no less), Grabner IS a guy who generally takes shorter, more concentrated shifts than a lot of other players.

This said, Okposo and even Bailey continue to be guys who don't produce at a level this team needs them to in order to be competitive on a regular basis. Grabner has technically chipped in at a clip that is correspondent to what is expected of him. Nielsen has also clearly dropped in his pace since Visnovsky came and assumed his PP time.

 

[luki here]

Well, aside from him being on the third line as opposed to the current Okposo-Nielsen-Bailey line (which is currently the 'second' and also a PP line, no less), Grabner IS a guy who generally takes shorter, more concentrated shifts than a lot of other players.

This said, Okposo and even Bailey continue to be guys who don't produce at a level this team needs them to in order to be competitive on a regular basis. Grabner has technically chipped in at a clip that is correspondent to what is expected of him. Nielsen has also clearly dropped in his pace since Visnovsky came and assumed his PP time.

msg listed them as 4th line yesterday. They have also recently been receiving less TOI than the cizikas line. Just sayin...

 

[Maxislanderfan]

What is going on with Grabner's ice time?

His ice time in the last 5 games-

NYR - 11 + (2 of those minutes were Shorthanded)
MNT - 12:21
OTT - 13:11
TOR - 11:24
BOS - 10:52

At the beginning of the season we were seeing 17, 20, 19, 18 minutes of playing time.
Now, he hasn't played more than 15 mins since 2/9th.

Grabner needs to be playing top 6 minutes.

It doesn't sit well with me when Boyes, Bailey, Okposo, Martin, and at times
Mcdonald, Cizikas, and Reasoner are getting more time than Grabner.

Tonight against the Rangers, Grabner played 9:11 minutes at Even strength?! why?
Boyes played 17, Bailey and Okposo nearly had 17 and their shot total together totaled to 3. Grabner had 4.

Trying to get my head around what the logic here is...
Is Grabner a liability at EV? Are they trying to inflate Boyes worth for the trade deadline?
Are they trying to see what they have in Bailey as a top 6?

Grabner needs to get paired back up with Fransie or maybe let's see what he could do with Moulson and JT.

Yeah not a big fan of Reasoner

 

[Seph]

What?

This is not a question of taking shorter shifts- Absolutely not.
He is NOT getting top 6 minutes. Bailey Okposo and Fransi
Played 17 mins. Compared to Grabner's line.
he should be reinstated on the left side of Nielsen.

Grabner played 17 shifts against the Rangers. Bailey played 19 shifts. Shorter shifts absolutely factor into this.

 

[IslesRock4]

In a sense, the Isles have a unique situation with Grabner. He can play on any line and be equally dangerous. So I kinda like him as a 10-15 minute player.

I'd play him with two energy guys who are responsible defensively and can be aware enough to look for a breakout pass. Nielsen was great at that. Reasoner's generally a pretty bad player but he's consistent. Maybe it's time to get Aucoin back in and Reasoner sits. Both Aucoin and Cizikas could work well with Grabs.

I don't like him with JT but it's worth a shot.

Let's face it, things aren't working, the Isles will miss the playoffs if they don't improve significantly. I don't think that can happen unless this very same group of players do better, both offensively AND defensively.

Moulson - Tavares - Martin
Bailey - Cizikas - Boyes
Grabner - Nielsen - McDonald
Ullstrom - Aucoin - Okposo

Maybe these provide enough balance on every line, some bite, some energy, some offense and much more defense.

In a sense, it's a first line, and three third lines. But may help significantly at even strength.

Please wake up as Jack Capuano tomorrow.

 

[IslesNorway]

Putting Grabner with the likes of Reasoner just shows a desire not to win...

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Grabner got 9:22 toi today only person with less was ullstrom...

 

[13th Floor]

Grabner got 9:22 toi today only person with less was ullstrom...

I wish I could be a fly on the wall for what people in the organization are telling Ullstrom and Grabner day in and day out. It reminds me of Nino playing 4th line minutes last year and Strome sitting in the press box for the beginning of the season and never seeing the ice.

It just seems like the worst case scenario for these players. They are not getting top line minutes in either the NHL or AHL, and their confidence is eroding. I don't want to play armchair coach and GM, but something tells me that Ullstrom is more confused than coached.

 

[Dutch Frost]

I wish I could be a fly on the wall for what people in the organization are telling Ullstrom and Grabner day in and day out. It reminds me of Nino playing 4th line minutes last year and Strome sitting in the press box for the beginning of the season and never seeing the ice.

It just seems like the worst case scenario for these players. They are not getting top line minutes in either the NHL or AHL, and their confidence is eroding. I don't want to play armchair coach and GM, but something tells me that Ullstrom is more confused than coached.

exactly and that is why we need a veteran coach - Look at Toronto and what Carlyle has done with Kadri. Put in a sold veteran coach behind the bench and let him explain the fundamentals to the team and you will see better production out of Ullstrom , Okposo, Bailey, Nino etc..

Look at the Denver Nuggets with George Karl, Look at the Orioles with Buck Showalter, Look at the St.Louis Blues with Ken Hitchcock. Vet coaches leading young teams and they compete day in and day out!!

Having rookie coaches behind the bench is so counter productive to the rebuild. This is why I hate Okposo.. He has been terrible all season and not once is he being held accountable. I have no idea why Grabner gets 9 mins. Why is Okposo and Bailey getting PP time and Cizikas and Granber are not??

 

[InformTheMasses]

It's frustrating when you think about how the Isles are close to getting to .500 despite having Capuano as a coach. With a real coach and a few talented rookies next season, they could surprise a lot of people, including some on this board.

 

[Dutch Frost]

It's frustrating when you think about how the Isles are close to getting to .500 despite having Capuano as a coach. With a real coach and a few talented rookies next season, they could surprise a lot of people, including some on this board.

Imagine with those rookies we actually go out and sign Dany Heatley and Alex Semin to play along John Tavares and take the pressure off of the rookies. Lets sign Kimmo Timonen and Visnovsky to solidify the blue line to help Reinhart and Hamonic and Donovan. Instead we wont, we will go waiver wire pick ups and throw the prospects to the meat grinder with a rookie coach.

 

[IslesRock4]

Imagine with those rookies we actually go out and sign Dany Heatley and Alex Semin to play along John Tavares and take the pressure off of the rookies. Lets sign Kimmo Timonen and Visnovsky to solidify the blue line to help Reinhart and Hamonic and Donovan. Instead we wont, we will go waiver wire pick ups and throw the prospects to the meat grinder with a rookie coach.

Those are pretty poor examples for defense, since Timonen already re-signed with Philly and Visnovsky has stated that he's going back to Slovan next year.

But your point is still made.

 

[InformTheMasses]

Grabner has 8 Even Strength goals (nobody else on the entire team has more than 4 (except JT with 9). And Grabner leads the team with 20 takeaways....

Can't get playing time.

 

[SLAPSHOT723]

People here who think Bailey has been better than Grabner are crazy. Bailey has become useless, Grabner is our 2nd best wing behind Moulson.

 

[SI]

Grabner played 17 shifts against the Rangers. Bailey played 19 shifts. Shorter shifts absolutely factor into this.

Shifts are absolutely not a factor because they are relative.
Grabner needs top 6 minutes. That is the entire point of the argument - after I posted this -
Islanderspointblank had a feature about it and so did lighthousehockey the very next day - even Staple commented on his reduced minutes.

It got reduced once Bailey was reintroduced into the lineup. I am all for giving Bailey a shot at some top minutes, but not at Grabner's expense. Why are the Isles paying him 3 mill a season to play 10 minutes a game?


Here are Grabner's shifts during the Caps game
Grabner 16 shifts with a TOI of 9:22 - Josh Bailey had 23 shifts to Grabner's 16.

Looking at the shifts closely -
He had 6 shifts in the third period - 4 of the 6 shifts clocked in at:
:03 (can you really count this as a shift?), :09 (this shift ended with Nielsen's goal), :16 (ended on a whistle with PK2 coming out to take a draw), :14 (shift ended the game)
None of these short shifts ended with Grabner huffing off the ice.

Grabner had 4 shifts and a total of 2 minutes of TOI in the second period...
one of those shifts was an abbreviated :13 seconds that ended with a whistle.

This has everything to do with Grabner not getting enough minutes.
He has produced more than any other Winger not named Moulson.

Hell we won the game, so no complaints here, but Grabner needs to be paired with Nielsen and get top 6 minutes.

 

[InformTheMasses]

Shifts are absolutely not a factor because they are relative.
Grabner needs top 6 minutes. That is the entire point of the argument - after I posted this -
Islanderspointblank had a feature about it and so did lighthousehockey the very next day - even Staple commented on his reduced minutes.

It got reduced once Bailey was reintroduced into the lineup. I am all for giving Bailey a shot at some top minutes, but not at Grabner's expense. Why are the Isles paying him 3 mill a season to play 10 minutes a game?


Here are Grabner's shifts during the Caps game
Grabner 16 shifts with a TOI of 9:22 - Josh Bailey had 23 shifts to Grabner's 16.

Looking at the shifts closely -
He had 6 shifts in the third period - 4 of the 6 shifts clocked in at:
:03 (can you really count this as a shift?), :09 (this shift ended with Nielsen's goal), :16 (ended on a whistle with PK2 coming out to take a draw), :14 (shift ended the game)
None of these short shifts ended with Grabner huffing off the ice.

Grabner had 4 shifts and a total of 2 minutes of TOI in the second period...
one of those shifts was an abbreviated :13 seconds that ended with a whistle.

This has everything to do with Grabner not getting enough minutes.
He has produced more than any other Winger not named Moulson.

Hell we won the game, so no complaints here, but Grabner needs to be paired with Nielsen and get top 6 minutes.

GREAT Post, nice job. It really isn't worth a debate at this point. If you have to convince someone that Grabner needs more ice time and deserves it over Bailey, it really isn't worth wasting your time, they will never get it.

 

[Dutch Frost]

Those are pretty poor examples for defense, since Timonen already re-signed with Philly and Visnovsky has stated that he's going back to Slovan next year.

But your point is still made.

Kimmo resigned? Damn I thought he was a perfect fit lol... Late 30's we can sign for 2-3 years and help teach the kids. I know Viz said he is going back but $$ talks in the end. Who knows.. Regardless we can't go and expect Ness (whom I think is terrible) will be our dman to carry us deep in the playoffs

 

[Fork]

wow, to see a forward 3rd in goals for the team with only 9 mins of ice time....