Grabner still carving his niche in NHL

Michael Grabner slides under the radar even more now that he plays in Arizona.

The 31-year-old winger possesses skills that his coaches and teammates classify as some of the most eye-popping in the NHL. So why has he not even been the most talked-about newcomer to the Coyotes?

Granted, Coyotes President of Hockey Operations and General Manager John Chayka did import several new faces this season. In addition to inking Grabner to a three-year deal in free agency, Chayka also brought in Alex Galchenyuk, Vinnie Hinostroza and Jordan Oesterle via trade.

Most of those headlines have gone to Galchenyuk, he of the 30-goal season just two years ago and the reason Max Domi now plays in Montreal. Galchenyuk’s week-to-week injury has kept us talking about how the Coyotes can supplement their scoring without him.

But what about Grabner?

If Grabner played for the Coyotes last season, he would have led the team in scoring by a significant margin. Only one player (Clayton Keller, 23) finished with 20-plus goals last season, and he still would have been four short of Grabner’s total.

Grabner has scored 54 goals in the last two seasons and exactly 27 in each campaign. None of those 54 goals came on the power play, and three came short-handed. Since 2010, he is tied for fourth in the NHL with 15 short-handed goals.

What’s more impressive than Grabner’s even-strength output is his prowess on the penalty kill, something Grabner could not have imagined would be his calling card back when he was a firstround draft pick in 2006.

As a rookie with the Vancouver Canucks, Grabner was painted as just a speed guy. But when Grabner was traded to the New York Islanders prior to the 2010 season, he began using that speed in a different way.

Coyotes defensive coach Scott Allen was in his first year as an assistant coach with the Islanders that year and saw how Grabner extrapolated what had been a one-dimensional skill and made it into a valuable asset on the penalty kill.

“The first thing that comes to anybody’s mind with Michael Grabner is obviously his speed,” Allen said. “He’s right up there in the top-five guys with his speed. He can break away and create separation, and not a ton of guys have that kind of ability. With that, he was almost one-dimensional and almost completely relied on his speed.

“He’d get a couple breakaways a game at most and score with the amount of opportunities he had off his speed. He’d find a way to chip in. As his game has evolved, he’s become very good on the defensive side.”

Grabner said he enjoyed life on the penalty kill from the moment he first joined the special teams unit in New York. Back then, he relished getting under the skin of John Tavares during practice drills.

Now, he’s tasked with bringing that same presence in Arizona, and he’s been getting extended opportunities to play with noted Coyotes penalty-killer Brad Richardson to break him in.

“I think that’s probably why I’m still in the league, to be honest,” Grabner said of his role on the penalty kill. “The speed and the penalty kill kind of goes hand-in-hand for me. My role over the years from now to when I was drafted has changed a lot. Back then I was called out for being more of a one-dimensional guy, whereas now I’m more about the defensive side of the game.”

Despite finishing last in the Western Conference last season, the Coyotes’ penalty kill was relatively competent. They finished 19th in the NHL with a 79.5 kill percentage.

Grabner has been moved around enough to know that staying still in this game means being phased out, both on and off the ice. If you’re not in motion during a game, you will fall behind. And if you’re not willing to change as a player as you get older, you aren’t long for the NHL.

“You’ve got to adapt and be coachable,” Grabner said. “You’ll have to change your style the way certain coaches want to play. You also have to have a niche in this game, like if you can mold yourself into a certain aspect of the game, a lot of guys are really good power-play QB’s. That can help you stay in the league a little bit.

“And it’s not like I’m just focused on the penalty kill; obviously I’m still trying to score. But if you get really good (at your niche), you’ve got a good chance of staying around.”

Allen said Grabner’s presence alters the dynamic of the Coyotes’ entire system because of his pure speed and even-strength scoring ability, “because if he gets a step on you, most guys probably aren’t going to catch him,” Allen said.

Still, Grabner isn’t concerned about goal totals or individual accolades, and he doesn’t view himself as a guy who teams specifically game-plan for.

But Grabner is who he is, and that’s a guy with consistent 20-plus goal potential and a history of performance on the penalty kill. That’s more than enough for him and the Coyotes.

“If I score seven goals this year and we make the playoffs, then that’s better than what I had last year with scoring (27),” Grabner said. “If I’m playing a more defensive role (with Richardson), that’s fine. Hopefully I score some goals, obviously, but I think we’ve jelled pretty good so far.”