MVN - Most Valuable Network

Coyotes Acquire Enforcer McGrattan

The Phoenix Coyotes acquired right wing Brian McGrattan from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a 5th round pick in the 2009 draft.  The 6′4″ 245 lb McGrattan has played three seasons in the NHL (all for Ottawa) while compiling 2 goals and 8 assists along with 287 PIM in 143 games.

With last Friday’s trade of Nick Boynton the Coyotes had lost their “backup” enforcer after Daniel Carcillo so the acquisition of the moutainesque  McGrattan fills a hole for Phoenix.  The price was right and McGrattan will give other teams pause to mess with our speedy forwards, in particular center Kyle Turris and newly drafted Mikkel Boedker and Viktor Tikhonov.

“We thought with the youth of our team going forward we needed someone of Brian’s talents,”  — Coyotes GM Don Maloney on the acquisition of tough guy Brian McGrattan

McGrattan’s role should be clearly defined since he is not blessed with particular skating or scoring ability.  He did break the AHL single-season penalty record by notching 551 PIM during the 2004-05 season.  So look to see a lot of McGrattan this season with his gloves thrown to the ice and his fists pummeling some unlucky Coyote opponent.  This will allow Carcillo, who had 13 goals last season, to reduce his PIM which stood at a stout 314 last season, and work more on developing his skills as a scorer.

McGrattan’s fate in Ottawa was sealed after GM Bryan Murray informed him that he would not be brought back next season.  The reason given, according to a report in the Calgary Herald, was collateral damage related to the dismissal of volatile goalie Ray Emery.  McGrattan was Emery’s best friend so in the interest of a clean-break, Murray decided to offer McGrattan the minimum salary required in order to retain his rights as a restricted free agent and then trade him for whatever he could get.  That, as it turns out, was a fifth round pick.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 1:58 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.