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Grabovski Not Cleared For Training Camp |
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The Islanders take the ice at the Al Arbour Rink for the first day of training camp Friday. One player who will not be lacing up the skates is Mikhail Grabovski. The center has not been medically cleared to start camp. He is not even cleared to skate.
Since signing a four-year, $20 million deal in July 2014, Grabovski has suffered three concussions, two in his first season and one last season. When he is actually on the ice Grabovski is a very useful player.
The question now becomes what to do with Grabovski. Ryan Strome's new contract and cap hit of $2.5M pushes the Isles closer to the cap ceiling. Something I thought that I would never have seen in my lifetime. Salary cap sites such as General Fanager and NHL numbers have different numbers as to where the Isles cap currently stands. General Fanager has it just under $2.4M while NHL numbers has it $2.6M. Neither has Alan Quine or Scott Mayfield's contracts counting towards the cap. Both are on one-way deals and combined would add an additional $1.2M. If Mathew Barzal makes the team and remains with the Isles past the first nine games, his $894K and bonuses would count towards the cap.
What am I getting at? By adding those contracts towards the cap it will still keep them under the $73M cap. The Isles will not be able to put Grabovski on long term injured reserve until the regular season. Injured players cannot be bought out. The organization will be very careful with Grabovski with the hope that he can return to the ice sometime this season. If he cannot, it is very unlikely the Russian will retire and leave the $11 million on the table.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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