Flames Sign Brian McGrattan

He’ll be a healthy scratch most of time anyways or playing in Abbotsford if it’s a two-way deal but yeah I have to agree this is a blip on what was Sutter’s great summer but who knows it could be for the best.

It’s ownership’s money so I don’t care as long as he is playing in Abbotsford.
But.
Will he play in Abbotsford?

Sigh.

Cowbells, right? I just don’t get this mentality anymore. If the regular season is about getting ready for playoff hockey, why bother with this sort of player? I didn’t notice Eric Godard (the closest any of the Conference Finalists had to an actual goon) getting much ice time in the post-season. As in zero, actually. Ben Eager’s sort of a tough guy but he’s a hell of a lot better hockey player than McGrattan. The Flames have plenty of team toughness. They won’t be pushed around by very many teams, if any. If the Flames want to piss away half a million bucks, I’d be happy to provide the relevant financial institution information to Darryl Sutter. They’ll get about as much value giving me the money as they will giving it to McGrattan, and I’ll be a hell of a lot happier.

I suppose he went with McGrattan instead of Roy because it was cheaper but given the fact that the Flames are missing a bona fide top 6 winger it pisses me off they allocating cap space plus attention on this waste of a roster space.

This only reinforces my view that DaSu is basically going to ride with the group he’s got and if no one steps up, fill the role some time before the trade deadline.

It’s not even merely cap issue for me. Now we have a reduced chance of guys like VDG and Greentree making the team and providing some value from the 4th line. If there was some value to having some meat head beating up another meat head every so often, I’d be on board but there just isn’t. Every night that McGrattan plays he handicaps everyone he plays with.

…but what is up with the substance abuse program?

The Sun confirms it’s a one-way deal. From the article:

“With a fresh and healthy shoulder, I don’t think too many guys are going to contend with me,” he said. “With that, guys like (Jay) Bouwmeester and (Jarome) Iginla can play how they want and not worry about anybody.”

I don’t understand this reasoning. I really don’t. Are Iginla and Bouwmeester really worried about the oppositions 5 minute/night goons? Does McGrattan being around actually stop them from doing what they do anyways?

If it all wasn’t so stupid and unneccessary, it’d be funny. Besides, I thought Darryl was coming out of retirement to be the enforcer?!?

Also, Max Talbot proved that getting your ass kicked is a better team motivator than any goon-on-goon action. So, why not let Eric Nystrom get beat up a dozen times this year and use the McGrattan cap hit towards an actual hockey player.

is it wishful thinking that we’ve got a deal in place to send him back to phoneix ?
(it is, right ?)

well, the good news is that i’m back to hating darryl sutter.

I don’t think this erases all the good he’s done this summer – hell, Brian Burke picked up Colton Orr for 4 years at a million a year. Most GM’s around the league are still making this same, strange decision and some are doing so at a greater price.

It still annoys me though.

It’s not so much that I find this annoying because of the cost, because he is playing for the league minimum correct?

It also isn’t so much of a problem because of the cap hit. Likely any ‘enforcer’ or fringe talent player (DVDG or Sjostrum etc.) will be the one extra guy sitting in the press box watching games in a suit from one night to the next.

It also isn’t so much that he is a terrible hockey player compared to other enforcers (I.E. Roy, or Goddard or….)

What really bothers me about this is exactly what you have said Kent. If he’s none of these things, then why sign him? Whether we get him for 50,000 or 500,000 I don’t see any value in signing this guy. He sounds problematic (substance abuse issues) and he does nothing well from a hockey side of things. I don’t read anything about him being particularly liked, or good in the dressing room. So what can he do well other than punch?

I guess Sutter just views him as the best potential out of a cheap option and that’s it. Akin to Bertuzzi. Which is boring, tired and frightening. We just picked ourselves up a non-factor, because we could.

Also, now we’ve just given reason for that asshat Boogard to play.

He was with the Senators for a long time. Yes, he was traded from the Senators, and it wouldn’t be unreasonable to suggest his substance abuse problems were part of the reasoning for that trade—he was part of a cleansing of the Ottawa Senators locker room that still hasn’t finished yet. But he’s possibly the best fighter in the league, and is surprisingly fast for his size, and can actually hit. I will say this: He can certainly play a regular fourth-line role, with 4-6 minutes per night, and be quite the opposite of a liability.

I’d also like to make a comment about the ‘substance abuse’ problems: He’s been through the PA’s substance abuse program. The fact that he chose to get involved with it, has gone through the whole process, and is still looking to stay in the league should be a good sign. While that kind of program doesn’t always work on the first try, I think you should give the guy the benefit of the doubt.

When he was with Ottawa, I was routinely disappointed with the coaching staff’s decision to seriously limit his ice time. Check out this post, from my old blog, if you want to read more about it: http://sensarmy.blogspot.com/2007/12/mcgrattan-deserves-better.html

If the guy can actually play hockey, then this is all moot naturally. I’ll believe it when I see it, however.

Not overly worried about it, but kind of pointless as a few others have pointed out.