He won quite a few from what I remember. He was the master of the left hand straight arm jab while holding the guy's jersey to soften him up, then going in for the finish with the right.
Straight right real tight to his chest. Real tough to do get out of the way of that punch.
Nothing wrong with this move. If it doesn't work, then McGrattan just goes down to the Heat. Nobody on these forums is going to miss Piskula I would say. As long as the Flames don't have to give up futures for something like this, not much to complain about I think.
I think other teams are taking far too many liberties with our players and goaltenders. We need someone to remind these teams why they shouldn't take liberties.
not a bad acquisition. We need some physicality and he can certainly add that. This might mean that other teams may not get away with stuff!!!!! Seriously glad we got him.
Personally I have no problem with bringing more toughness and maybe an air of menace to our lineup, god knows we need it.
I don't know if McGratton is that guy anymore.
Personally it would be cheaper to find some loose cannon psycho from the minors that has that willingness to be an on ice nut
I tend to agree with this. It isn't like the guy has any real ability. I would have to think that there is some crazy down in the AHL willing *anything* in order to get into the NHL.
Hartley in the past has also had his assassins (Lemieux and Sutton come to mind) so I would think that he would try to get one for the Flames.
Don't kid yourself. He'll be watching the game from the 96% of the time.
if i understand you correctly...
yeah, i know. but how many times have this teams heart been questioned this season? he may just be an enforcer, but in the locker room a soldiers attitude can go a long way. He brings a gritty mantra, and that is something that is contagious in every sport.
There aren't going to be many tougher guys in the AHL. The only reason McGratton is in the NHL is because of his fighting ability. You might be able to find a crazy guy (Carcillio type) but that just leads to being shorthanded all the time.
Honestly... if he makes the players on the ice feel safer or even at least makes the team feel like they have a guy who can deal with anyone in the league its fine by me. He's not going to play often and he's probably replacing Akim Aliu or Tim Jackman in the line-up when he dresses.. its not like its a massive skill drop.
Like the move. I have no problem platooning our 12th forward, depending if that is a goon or a shootout specialist (depending upon the opponent). I like it even more when we have top 9 forward depth, and the extra shift or two can be used as a carrot to the top 9 to earn it through their play in a particular game.
Notwithstanding what has been stated in the thread, he is not a liability on the ice. He does not have 5 goal upside, but he is not going to cost us many games either. He'll finish the season around even on the plus minus scale.
Not the brightest bulb out there, but assuming he is still on the wagon, he will be fine here.
THe other thing this does is that is should light a fire under Jackman, but also take the pressure off of him to scrap the Bissonettes of the league. It moves Jackman down a rank and may let him play more of a pest role out there (that he is actually good at, but stopped doing).
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Don't think McGrattan is the answer to team toughness, but have no problem with the trade because Joe Piskula sucks. Contract in, contract out, and out of the two McGrattan would hurt the big team less if he got called up and played 5 minutes a game.
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