Luanne Duncan

For those who didn’t see, I posted a brief recap of last night’s game against Winnipeg. You can read that HERE.

Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.

If NY Ranger fans and analysts were asked at the start of this season, who would be leading the NYR in goal scoring after 13 games, who would be the top pick?  Mats Zuccarello?  Chris Kreider?  Maybe one of the new kids – Jimmy Vesey or Pavel Buchnevich?  Wrong, wrong and wrong.  The answer is the surprise pick-up of the year, #40, Michael Grabner. The NYR acquired the 29 year old Austrian native from Toronto on July 1st to little fanfare.  Grabner fetched a 2 year, $3.3M contract which is turning out to be the deal of the century for what this guy is now producing.

Most fans, if they even recognized the name at all, remember Grabner from playing five years with the NY Islanders.  In 2010-2011, his first and best season with the rival franchise, he garnered 34 goals and 18 assists in 76 games. In September 2015 he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs.  In 80 games there, he scored a paltry 9 goals and 9 assists. It was no surprise he was not able to contribute significantly to the offensively challenged team ranked near the bottom of the league in goal scoring. However, with the way Grabs is currently playing for the Rangers, he is set to blow his best season stats out of the rink. Read the rest of this entry →