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UFA of the Day: Mikhail Grabovski

Washington Capitals v Nashville Predators

Mikhail Grabovski

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Check PHT each weekday for the first four weeks of June for a new pending unrestricted free agent of the day. Today’s UFA of the Day is…

Mikhail Grabovski

The 2013-14 campaign was Mikhail Grabovski’s chance to prove that the Toronto Maple Leafs were wrong to give up on him. It didn’t work out the way he wanted, although it wasn’t a disaster either.

After Toronto used a compliance buyout on Grabovski in the summer of 2013, the forward ranted that head coach Randy Carlyle is a "[expletive] idiot” that didn’t support him and subjected him to fourth-line duties. His agent chimed in that the Leafs “mismanaged him,” but he was upbeat after signing a one-year deal with Washington.

Things couldn’t have started better as Grabovski scored a hat trick in his debut en route to recording 11 goals and 30 points in 38 games through December. However, he went cold after that and his struggles in the second half of the season were further exasperated by ankle problems. By the time the season was over, he had 35 points in 58 contests.

Despite his hot-and-cold campaign, the lack of skilled centers on the free agent market works in Grabovski’s favor. He would like to re-sign with the Capitals though, per the Washington Post.

He’s reportedly hoping to land a four or five-year deal that would pay him in the range of $5 million annually. That would be in line with the five-year, $27.5 million contract Toronto used a buyout to get out of.

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