Toronto Maple Leafs: The Domino Effect of the Grabovski Buyout

As I have previously written, the Toronto Maple Leafs have come a long, long way as an organization over the last few years.

It wasn’t too long ago that the Toronto Maple Leafs front office was infested with the kinds of hockey minds that thought signing a 38 year old Stephane Robidas to a 3 year contract was a shrewd move.

God, I almost threw up just typing that.

While the David Clarkson contract is the consensus pick for Dave Nonis‘s worst move as Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager, I am here to provide a counterpoint. The buyout of Mikhail Grabovski in the summer of 2013 created a domino effect that crippled the Leafs organization for years. It is absolutely worthy of challenging for the title of worst move of the Nonis-era.

Let me tell you why.

Toronto Maple Leafs: The Grabovski Buyout Domino Effect

When the NHL emerged from the 2012-13 lockout with a new CBA, the landscape of the entire league had shifted again. Perhaps the biggest change resulting from the lockout was that each team was awarded with 2 “compliance buyouts”.

These compliance buyouts worked essentially as “get out of jail free cards.” They allowed teams to buy out any player, and be completely absolved of the cap hit. No strings attached! Placed in the right hands, these compliance buyouts had the power to completely alter a club’s future. By shedding dead cap space, the team was granted the freedom to propel themselves to contention.

Unfortunately, the right hands didn’t belong to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Leafs used their first compliance buyout, inexplicably, on Mikhail Grabovski. Fresh off a season in which he was diagnosed with mononucleosis, Grabovski had under-performed in relation to his past production. Any rational person, however, could have put together that Grabovski’s limited production was clearly due to his illness.

Nonis, as it seems, was not a rational person, and decided cut ties with him. Did I mention that Grabovski had just been signed to a 5 year contract only a year prior?

Free Agent Foolery

The Grabovski buyout allowed Nonis to embark on a streak of personnel moves so damaging, that possibly only Marc Bergevin could ever challenge him. We all know that Nonis gave a seven year, $36.75 million contract to David Clarkson, right?

Personally, I wouldn’t have given a guy who had proven to be elite at swatting home Ilya Kovaluk‘s rebounds that kind of money. But what do I know? I’m just a writer.

Yet, that is only the tip of the ice berg.

PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 15: Mikhail Grabovski /

Remember how buying out Grabovski burned the most valuable asset at Nonis’s disposal for no reason? Well, its been theorized that Nonis actually did that in order to free up salary to sign Clarkson! This is the same Clarkson who ended his Toronto Maple Leafs tenure with a grand total of 15 goals. How bad is that? Well, Auston Matthews scored nearly three times as many goals in just his rookie season.

All Part of the Plan

But guys, Nonis thinks ahead.

Prior to the buyout of Grabovski, Nonis had decided to give up a 2nd and 3rd round pick in order to acquire centre Dave Bolland from the Chicago Blackhawks. With Bolland in the lineup, surely the Leafs didn’t actually need Grabovski anymore, right?

Well, Bolland ended his only season as a Maple Leaf with 12 points in 23 games. Over the course of the season, he spent more time on the injured reserve than on the ice. Comparatively, Grabovski finished that same season with 35 points in 58 games, fulfilling the role of top six centre for the playoff bound Washington Capitals.

Quite the upgrade, Dave.

Wasting Assets

But wait, there’s more!

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost two of their top four centre men early into the 2013-14 season due to injury. In fact, the team was so strapped at the centre position, they were forced to experiment with James Van Reimsdyk down the middle. That experiment was abandoned after just one game.

Can you guess which player would have really come in handy at that point for the Leafs? If you guessed Mikhail Grabovski, then congratulations! You are officially smarter than Dave Nonis was in 2013.

Desperate to ice a lineup with at least 3 capable centres, Nonis was forced to sacrifice a prospect in Jesse Blacker, as well as a conditional draft pick, in order to acquire Peter Holland from Anaheim. Funnily enough, that conditional draft pick the Leafs gave the Ducks turned into a 2nd rounder. Why? Because the conditions of the pick stated that if Holland played more than 25 games with the Leafs, it went from being a 3rd rounder, to a 2nd rounder.

Good thing head coach and toaster expert Randy Carlyle thought playing Peter Holland 4 minutes a game 39 times that year was vital to the Leafs success. Who needs a 2nd round pick anyway, right?

Recap

Let’s recap, shall we?

With Grabovski’s buyout approaching, Nonis decided to give up 2nd and 3rd round draft picks to acquire Dave Bolland, who only played 23 games as a Leaf. Next, the cap space awarded by the buyout was then funneled towards signing David Clarkson to potentially the worst contract in NHL history.

More from Editor In Leaf

Clarkson scored 15 total goals in his time in Toronto, and is now the reason why the Leafs are paying Nathan Horton $5.3 million a year not to play for them. Finally, with Grabovski off the books, the Leafs had little centre depth remaining. This caused them to give away one of their prospects, as well a 2nd round draft pick, for Peter Holland.

Holland, in case you forgot, was traded to the Arizona Coyotes in 2016 for a conditional 6th round pick. Said condition read that if the Coyotes extended Holland a qualifying offer after the season, the draft pick would remain a 6th rounder.

Well, guess what? The Coyotes didn’t qualify Holland, and left the Leafs with literally NOTHING in return.

Lessons to Learn

So, what did we learn from all this?

Essentially, asset management is crucial to maintaining success in a league that is governed by a salary cap. Draft picks and prospects are cheap options. They can provide immense value to those teams that are up against the cap ceiling. Such a method is how the Chicago Blackhawks have been able to sell off valuable lineup pieces, like Dave Bolland, and still remain competitive.

Kick-started by one buyout, the Toronto Maple Leafs started a spiral that saw them continue to give away young assets for pennies on the dollar, and ending up with nothing to show for it.

Next: Is the Leafs Management Bad?

So, next time you open Twitter to criticize the current Leafs management for something, take a minute to think. Think back to this move, and thank whatever god you believe in that this reality is in the past.

Dave Nonis can’t hurt you anymore.

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