grabner

Islanders forward Michael Grabner has been absolutely on fire of late, and thrown his name into the mix for rookie of the year.  With his OT winner last night he capped off his second career hat trick, giving him 24 goals on the season which ties him with Logan Couture for the rookie lead.  What makes this even more surprising is how the Islanders picked up Grabner for absolutely nothing after he was cut by the Florida Panthers in the preseason.  Florida acquired Grabner from Vancouver along with salary dump Steve Bernier and a 1st round pick in exchange for Keith Ballard.  A lot of Canucks fans were upset to get rid of Grabner, as she showed flashes of brilliance in some of the few games he played for them last year.  The Canucks also have a lot of depth up front and at the time needed help on the blue line, so he was an asset they could afford to lose.  But is he an asset Florida can afford to lose?  What were they thinking?  If you can put up 24 goals playing for the Islanders you can pretty much do it anywhere.  Grabner showcased his speed at the NHL allstar game beating Taylor Hall twice to win the fastest skater.  But speed was never the question with him, it was more about his hands and his play with the puck.  He is now starting to show he can finish around the net, and he certainly creates a lot of chances with his speed.  This year's rookie class has been one of the best in recent memory, with Grabner, PK Subban, Jeff Skinner, and Logan Couture all playing big roles for their respective teams, and it will be interesting to see which of these guys takes the ROY award at the end of the season.