Mikhail Grabovski has gone from calling Randy Carlyle an "[expletive] idiot,” to finding some positives about his old Leafs coach.
“It was a great experience for me, too, last year because I little bit struggle before with defensive [play],” Grabovski told CSN Washington. “After Randy I played better defensively.”
In July, Grabovski was singing a different tune.
He went on the offensive shortly after Toronto made him a compliance buyout, launching into a profanity-laced tirade to TSN.
“I play in the [expletive] Russian KHL, I make lots of [expletive] points and what’s going to happen? He makes me [expletive] play on the fourth line and he put me in the playoffs on the fourth line and third line again,” Grabovski said. “Yeah, I don’t score goals. I need to work more about that. I know that.
“But if you feel support from your coach [you’ll find success]. I don’t feel any support from this [expletive] idiot.”
Grabovski, 29, took the summer to assess his options before agreeing to join the Capitals on a one-year, $3 million deal. He sounds excited about the opportunity to play for a more offensive-minded coach in Adam Oates -- “the new coach likes more skills,” he explained -- and insists his feud with Carlyle was blown out of proportion.
“Everybody looks at the bad words but I say a lot of good words, too,” Grabovski said. “We’re human and sometimes that’s good.”