Mikhail Grabovski Proves That Patience Can Pay off for Toronto Maple Leafs

Being asked to "have patience" is very familiar to Toronto Maple Leaf fans. They have been asked to have it for struggling teams, incompetent management and floundering players. Having not reached the playoffs since the lockout, trapped in a cycle of mediocrity or worse, the Toronto fans are, understandably, starting to lack patience.

But if there is one thing that can be said about patience it is that sometimes it allows a team to bring out the best in a player.

Mikhail Grabovski is a perfect example of a team not giving up on a player when management was frustrated and the fans were upset at his play. Toronto acquired Grabovski from Montreal after a season in which he played 24 games and had nine points. His attitude was called into question and thus, the promising prospect was traded to Toronto for Greg Pateryn and a second-round pick.

In his first season with Toronto and his first full NHL season, Grabovski had a promising year, reaching the 20-goal plateau and adding 28 assists in 78 games. But in his injury-marred second year with Toronto, they saw his goal total halved. Grabovski recorded just 35 points in 59 games and while recording a plus-three, his play reflected an unfocused individual. He would fly around the ice, crashing into everything that moved, but not necessarily on purpose. It seemed that Grabovski spent more time falling on the ice than actually skating.

His behaviour and dropoff in production suggested that, once again, Grabovski might be headed for a new home.

But offseason talks with Leaf's coaching staff, a new workout regimen and a new-found devotion to improving all aspects of his game created a new Grabovski in the 2010-2011 season.  No longer was he struggling to stay on his feet or whizzing around haplessly.  

Grabovski was using his speed effectively to avoid checks and skate around defenders.  He was using his strong stickhandling to deceive other players and setup chances for his linemates, Nikolai Kulemin and Clarke MacArthur.  He was committing to and improving in all aspects of the game, and it showed in his and his linemate's production.  

Grabovski recorded a career-best 58 points in 81 games, just one shy of the 30-goal mark, and a team-best (by a large margin) plus-14.  Kulemin and MacArthur also had career bests in points with 57 and 63, respectively.

It was an astounding turnaround from Grabovski, and it marked a clear turnaround from when fans were calling for him to be traded for nothing and suggesting he was the worst second-line centre in the NHL.  Those days are forgotten as most nights he is the Leafs' most effective forward, one that is putting out max effort on every shift and turning that impressive energy into effective scoring chances.

Grabovski's transformation is one to keep in mind when looking at other young players, either ones struggling at the NHL level or prospects who aren't quite living up to their potential yet.  

Players like Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak, who have limited NHL experience but show great potential, are examples of players whose transformation might not be quite there yet.  It isn't guaranteed that they will take a great leap forward at some point, but for fans and management, wouldn't they rather see it happen with the Leafs than with another team?

Grabovski is just one example of a player that has rewarded a team with their patience, and it is doubtful that he will be the last.