Player Discussion Ridly Greig (LW) 28th Overall

[UglyPuckling]

So, are there any updates on Greig's injury? If its a shoulder, this could be another Pinto scenario unfortunately.

 

[God Says No]

That injury had nothing to do with him being injury prone. Was a dirty unexpected hit.

But if he's bigger and stronger, perhaps he can absorb it better. His size will be a concern going forward.

 

[KnuckChuckinTkachuk]

Greig was blind sided by a hit which was clearly an interference penalty that the refs missed & then missed another one later in the game. They also missed Canada having six skaters on the ice at the same time which was crazy bad. Hopefully, it's not too serious, but it looked like a shoulder injury & those things tend to linger until they get it fixed & that means missing most of a season like both Pinto & White had too.

I think that's mainly if there's a tear with his rotator cuff or labrum. That would be 3-6 months or more recovery time.

Wolanin had a labrum tear and was out a while. Other shoulder injuries can heal much quicker but are still prone to re-injury if not given enough rest.

But if he's bigger and stronger, perhaps he can absorb it better. His size will be a concern going forward.

Maybe but any player who receives a blindside hit when they do not brace themselves can be prone to an injury.

With that same logic, were Norris and Pinto injured because they were too small/weak..?

 

[SpezDispenser]

I think I speak for all of us when I say I hope to shit he's not badly injured.

 

[BondraTime]

Grieg will always have problems with injuries, a guy his size that plays the way he does is going to come with that extremely real risk.

Arguing against that is pretty foolish I think

 

[Hale The Villain]

He was literally interfered with and never anticipated the hit.... His style of play had nothing to do with him leaving the game..

I'm talking about in general.

He's been injured frequently since the draft. Might not change unless he tones down his style of play.

 

[Cosmix]

Still think AHL top line minutes with top pp and pk are the best for his development.

We want him to become a hard nosed top 6 forward. AHL is a great way to help him achieve that

Plus it gives him more time to mature and develop his body before having to compete with the biggest, best and fastest players in the best league in the world.

 

[bert]

Depends on whether he was already hurt and the interference just aggravated something caused by his playstyle. It seemed pretty innocuous tbh so I suspect the damage was already done prior

This was quite clearly a shoulder injury on the play when his leg was hurt before. It was dirty as hell.

But if he's bigger and stronger, perhaps he can absorb it better. His size will be a concern going forward.

I think his strength was the issue there, most players get flattened which would have reduced the impact. He is strong on his skates he just isnt very big stature wise.

 

[Cosmix]

Greig was blind sided by a hit which was clearly an interference penalty that the refs missed & then missed another one later in the game. They also missed Canada having six skaters on the ice at the same time which was crazy bad. Hopefully, it's not too serious, but it looked like a shoulder injury & those things tend to linger until they get it fixed & that means missing most of a season like both Pinto & White had too.

I hope you are wrong.

Yup. Keep in AHL all year this year. When Debrincat moves on you slot him there to negate the blow as much as possible.

I hope not but fear it may end up that way (i.e., Debrincat leaving or being traded)

 

[KnuckChuckinTkachuk]

I'm talking about in general.

He's been injured frequently since the draft. Might not change unless he tones down his style of play.

I don't get it though... do all players that play with an edge, despite being slightly undersized, are they considered injury prone? Marchand? Pageau? (not many comparables).

I mean I get what you're saying but his style of play is exactly what makes him a 2-way force. He will learn to maybe pick and chose his moments more at the NHL level but I don't want a passive more reserved Greig.

 

[Tuna99]

I'm talking about in general.

He's been injured frequently since the draft. Might not change unless he tones down his style of play.

Alfie was injured a lot his first few seasons, I know the concern with so many injuries but we won’t be able to tell what impact all these injuries have on his hockey career until he’s in his mid 20s and he’s as matured to the point of maximum manliness, and we see what’s been taken away.

But when I saw the headline I thought “oh no, hope he’s not injury prone”

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

My read on the Greig hit is it was a timing issue on the hit where Greig had not touched the puck but was close to it and about to touch it.
It was a 2 minute interference penalty that went uncalled.

 

[KnuckChuckinTkachuk]

Grieg will always have problems with injuries, a guy his size that plays the way he does is going to come with that extremely real risk.

Arguing against that is pretty foolish I think

I think you could say that in general for most undersized athletes playing high paced contact sports.

 

[KnuckChuckinTkachuk]

I'm talking about in general.

He's been injured frequently since the draft. Might not change unless he tones down his style of play.

How many injuries since he's been drafted? How many would be caused by reckless play vs being normal injuries that players tend to deal with?

 

[God Says No]

Maybe but any player who receives a blindside hit when they do not brace themselves can be prone to an injury.

With that same logic, were Norris and Pinto injured because they were too small/weak..?

Yip! Albeit they are bigger and stronger than Greig, if they were a couple inches bigger and 10+ lbs heavier then yeah of course. Not sure how much both will still fill out, but they are young guys who I assume will absolutely be stronger in the future. Hopefully that helps them.

Norris is 6' 1" | 199 lb.
Pinto is 6' 2" | 192 lb.

That looks to me that they can still fill out and hopefully helps them be less injury prone.

 

[Bileur]

I don't get it though... do all players that play with an edge, despite being slightly undersized, are they considered injury prone? Marchand? Pageau? (not many comparables).

I mean I get what you're saying but his style of play is exactly what makes him a 2-way force. He will learn to maybe pick and chose his moments more at the NHL level but I don't want a passive more reserved Greig.

Marchand has been pretty incredible at avoiding heavy contact over the years given the target on his back and his size.

Same for Pageau but with less of a target.

 

[BondraTime]

I think you could say that in general for most undersized athletes playing high paced contact sports.

You certainly can for undersized guys.

Undersized guys that play with absolutely zero regard for their safety, and go balls to the wall, it happens with much more regularity.

It's a part of his game, and it's not leaving. But it absolutely brings more injury concerns, without a single doubt

Is Grieg more likely to get injured than Jordan Dumais? Without a doubt.

 

[guyzeur]

Marchand has been pretty incredible at avoiding heavy contact over the years given the target on his back and his size.

Same for Pageau but with less of a target.

sure but it also depends of their muscular distribution and how they're playing

 

[KnuckChuckinTkachuk]

You certainly can for undersized guys.

Undersized guys that play with absolutely zero regard for their safety, and go balls to the wall, it happens with much more regularity.

It's a part of his game, and it's not leaving. But it absolutely brings more injury concerns, without a single doubt

Is Grieg more likely to get injured than Jordan Dumais? Without a doubt.

Absolutely, I just don't see how his injuries were a directly result of his style of play and why they mark him as "injury prone". I don't consider him an injury prone player at all (yet).

 

[Micklebot]

Yip! Albeit they are bigger and stronger than Greig, if they were a couple inches bigger and 10+ lbs heavier then yeah of course. Not sure how much both will still fill out, but they are young guys who I assume will absolutely be stronger in the future. Hopefully that helps them.

Norris is 6' 1" | 199 lb.
Pinto is 6' 2" | 192 lb.

That looks to me that they can still fill out and hopefully helps them be less injury prone.

Neither of their injuries had anything to do with their strength though... Norris was hit when he wasn't ready or expecting a hit and went into the boards hard, that could happened to anyone and being bigger might have just meant more momentum into the boards. Pinto was another case of going awkward into the boards, that kind stuff can happen to anybody. Was Batherson not big and strong enough because Dell sent him into the boards awkwardly? Adding an inch or two and 10lbs doesn't mean you can't fall awkwardly into the boards.

 

[Agent Zuuuub]

greig should have known better to expect the hit with the way he plays.

When you play like that you are a target everytime and that was really only borderline interference.

 

[Byron Bitz]

Marchand has been pretty incredible at avoiding heavy contact over the years given the target on his back and his size.

Same for Pageau but with less of a target.

Marchand has great edges/lower body strength and spins off every guy who tries to hit him.

 

[God Says No]

Neither of their injuries had anything to do with their strength though... Norris was hit when he wasn't ready or expecting a hit and went into the boards hard, that could happened to anyone and being bigger might have just meant more momentum into the boards. Pinto was another case of going awkward into the boards, that kind stuff can happen to anybody. Was Batherson not big and strong enough because Dell sent him into the boards awkwardly? Adding an inch or two and 10lbs doesn't mean you can't fall awkwardly into the boards.

Sure it does. If you are stronger on your skates and it's harder for you to be moved due to your size then maybe Pinto isn't launched into the boards. But yeah I understand size isn't going to stop all the injuries especially with blindside hits and extra variables. Going back to Greig, he is way smaller than Norris/Pinto and the way he plays there is a real risk of him being injury prone.

 

[c_mak]

I would trade Grieg right now for Chychrun. I remember being supper high on Lazar after world juniors and, well, Lazar is still in the NHL but would any of us trade him for a top four D right now. Me thinks yes

 

[JackieDaytona]

Maybe it's hindsight, but I don't think Grieg and Lazar are comparable? They both did well in WHL and WJ, but I just feel that Grieg's skill is on another level, and his skillset is much more transferrable than LAzar. But fair enough, we see what we want to see, and I recall being fairly high on Lazar back then too.

I am not convinced that Chychrun is THE piece that we need and is the perfect fit (will he slot in at RD and partner with either Chabot or Sanderson effectively? Can he 'lead' a pairing? Do we need someone who has to lead a pairing - what will Sanderson look like in 6-8 months? It's a lot of unknowns...).

Nor am I convinced that he's the top 2 D (some rough patches and a short history) that his price tag would suggest. It's not a seller's market. The ask is really high. The field of potential bidders continues to shrink. I'm glad to see Dorion hold firm until the price is more reasonable, or until we have a better sense of needs on this team.

Adding too much salary/cap will ensure that our competitive window remains short. Letting go of high quality prospects to add more expensive players will exacerbate that.

I certainly won't be upset if we get Chychrun, but I don't think it's the smart move, particularly at the current asking price.