Gambling in Leaf Land

I will get to today's Pucks and Rocks NHL Season Preview, which will be the Nashville Predators in a little while.  However, today's developing story does require my attention, as the New York Islanders traded Michael Grabner to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Taylor Beck, Matt Finn, Christopher Gibson, and a couple of other prospects.

As you know, this blog is not exactly above Leaf bashing, and if you've figured it out already, you know where this is going.  Before I do that though, the Islanders have proven to be gamblers when it comes to player moves, and most of the time lately, it's worked for the best.  Getting a solid bottom two line player in Beck will help, as will replenishing the pipeline with Gibson and Finn, who help the goaltending and defenseman area, respectively.  As for the Leafs, this is a major gamble in that the Leafs are betting they will be getting the Grabner who put up 34 goals in 2010-11 and not the Grabner that has not only been injury prone, but also the player that has put up 20 goals in the last two seasons...combined.  Add to the fact that seemingly, Grabner's only other positive attribute is speed, and it ca be said that the Maple Leafs gave up far too much for a player that teases with 40-goal potential, but hasn't come close to delivering in all but one season since he became an NHL regular.  More telling is that the Leafs would be willing to give up two of their better prospects (Finn and Gibson) and a player that they just traded for this off-season (Beck).  Yes, this is Brendan Shanahan's team now, and this trade may already be a defining point in his time with the Leafs.