Michael Grabner Clears Waivers, What Now for the NHL Penalty Killer?

The Arizona Coyotes placed forward Michael Grabner on waivers this week for the purposes of a buyout. As of Sunday morning, he passed through giving him the option to sign elsewhere.

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Grabner had one year left on his current deal at a $3.775 million in salary and a cap hit of $3.35 million. With the buyout that followed, the Coyotes now have an additional $883K on this season’s books and $1.25 million next. It’s not a lot of room to do much but that’s not what the Coyotes were after with this decision. Rather, the Coyotes didn’t feel like they wanted to spend the additional dollars it would cost to keep Grabner on the roster and his poor five-on-five play this past season likely had a lot to do with that decision.

Michael Grabner (bought out by ARI) is a speedy PK specialist who's a non-entity at 5v5. pic.twitter.com/ZJDPcSAMNt

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) October 3, 2020

“This was simply a hockey decision,” new general manager Bill Armstrong said. He then talked about what an incredible person Grabner is and called him a consummate professional. “We appreciate everything he’s done for the Coyotes organization.”

Now What? Can Grabner Find Work?

The simple answer to this is yes. Despite the fact that he offers next-to nothing five-on-five, the 33-year-old will probably find a home. The forward scored 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in 46 games this past season, plus three goals in nine games during the postseason. That’s enough to contribute on someone’s fourth line.

Not to mention, he’s hoping his history in the NHL as one of the league’s best penalty killers will see him standout out from the pack. He’ll come in at an inexpensive price, he’ll contribute on special teams and he likely won’t argue if he’s not in the lineup every night. There are a lot worse ways teams can go.

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