Alumni Spotlight: Mike Grier

Mike Grier was a reliable right winger for the Sabres over his two stints with the team from 2004-2006 and 2009-2011. He played in a total of 272 regular-season and playoff games with Buffalo.
Now an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils, he gave Sabres.com a few minutes of his time last week when he was in town before their game against the Sabres.

What is the best game you were ever a part of while you were with the Sabres?
We had some good ones! There's a lot that are up there. I guess I'll go with Pommer's game-winner in overtime, shorthanded against Ottawa. That was pretty good to beat those guys and you know they were a team we had trouble with all regular season. To beat them in five in their building was pretty good.
With Jay McKee in the box for tripping, Jason Pominville scored shorthanded 2:26 into overtime to give the Sabres a 3-2 win, and a 4-1 series victory in the 2006 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
I thought you might say Game 1 of that series, the epic 7-6 overtime affair.
Well, that game was a little wild, so it was nice to actually put them away and be done with them and get to move on.
The Sabres trailed the Senators five times in Game 1 of that series before prevailing in overtime 7-6. Grier scored the game's opening goal and assisted on two others - including the winner from Chris Drury just eighteen seconds into the fourth period.
It felt like everybody on that team contributed that year. Would you agree that it was kind of unique that way?
It was for sure. It's something that I didn't come across too often in my career, a team that was that close and everyone kinda played their role. Everyone felt important and everyone contributed. It didn't matter.
We had some skilled guys who didn't get a lot of power-play time and things like that, but no one complained. Everyone just went out and did their job. It was a pretty special group.
Understanding there are always contractual situations and free agency, why did you leave Buffalo the first time and why did you come back?
The first time, I think things were kind of teetering, it could have gone one way or the other. I think myself, J-P [Dumont] and Jay McKee, a few of us had contracts that were up, and I think Danny [Briere] and Dru's [Chris Drury] were coming up the following year and it just wasn't clear which direction they were gonna go.
And I was at the point in my career where I really wanted to win. I had a taste of it here the year before getting to the [Eastern Conference] Finals and I thought going to San Jose was a good opportunity to do that. I would have loved to have stayed here if everyone had been wrapped up and committed to staying here, I would have definitely hopped on board and would have loved to.
So, looking back at it, it's kind of disappointing it couldn't have worked out, even when you see the guys that were still coming up after me - [Thomas] Vanek, I think that was his first year, and Pommer and [Paul] Gaustad, and you had guys like Staff [Drew Stafford] coming up. I think it really could have been really really something special if everyone could have been kept together.

But when [general manager] Darcy [Regier] and [head coach] Lindy [Ruff] reached out and gave me a chance to come back, I was more than happy to take it. It's a place that one, I enjoyed playing for Lindy. He was a great coach and a great person, and I had a great relationship with him. And two, my wife and I, we enjoyed it here, so to get a chance to come back just made sense.
Grier made the playoffs in each of his three seasons in San Jose, playing in 30 postseason games. However, the Sharks did not advance past the second round despite entering as the second, fifth and first seeds in the West those years.
One-thousand games played is still an incredible milestone. How do you look back on that and the fact it was accomplished here and also against a home team for you, that being Boston?
It was way beyond any of my wildest dreams to be able to play in the league that long. So, to do it is kind of mind-blowing but to do it here at home in front of the fans who were so good to me and to have Boston too was something my friends back home could watch. It was a special night.
On Nov. 3, 2010, Grier became the ninth player to appear in his 1,000th game as a member of the Sabres. Brian Gionta and Jason Pominville have since become the 10th and 11th, respectively, to do so.
Do you have a significant off-ice memory from being here?
Flying home from Arizona and my son Tristan being born here.
Did you make it in time?
No, I actually missed it. We had a West Coast trip and it was one of those things where your phone is on all the time waiting and waiting and I thought I'd be able to make it. It was maybe a week or an eight-day trip and on the last day as I'm getting on the plane, she [Anne] called me and said she was going into labor [laughs].
So, I think I missed it by about an hour, or hour-and-a-half, but it was pretty good surprise to come home and see the little guy.
Was he your first?
No, he was our third so [laughs] that bought me a little leeway at least to miss it. But he was the only one born here so he always says he's a Sabres fan and it's his hometown.
When you think of Buffalo what do you think of?
I think it's a good community. That's what I think of first. My family, we really enjoyed it here. The people treated us well. It's a good place to live and they supported the team whether we were winning or losing.
What led you into coaching?
I've always loved working with players, even as I was finishing my career. Coming back to Buffalo, that was something that was attractive to me - was the young players that were here to help them along, so I enjoyed that.
Then I went to coach high school then coached my oldest son. I just enjoyed being on the ice and helping and trying to mold players. And I've known Hynesy [Devils Head Coach John Hynes] since college, so when that opportunity opened up, it was something that I was excited to do.
This is Grier's first season as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils. Grier was a teammate of Devils head coach John Hynes during their time at Boston University, which included winning a national title in 1995.
How would you say that you might have "lived fearless" during the course of your career?
I just went out and played. I didn't really think or worry about making mistakes too much or consequences. I just played and did the best I could, worked as hard as I could and figured the rest would take care of itself.
Whether that meant blocking shots or fighting or whatever that was needed to be done to help the team win, I would do it and I guess I kind of did it without thinking about it.
Does that include playing through some badly injured shoulders?
Yeah, some shoulders and some knee stuff. But when you are in this profession and it's something you love to do, you want to be out there and try help the team and help your teammates win a game and just try and do whatever it takes to do that.
How many times did the shoulders have to be popped back in place over the years?
I don't know. It was a whole half of a season one year, where every couple of games it would come out. So that was definitely not fun.

When the end arrived, did you feel like you still had more left in you to play at this level or did you leave on your terms?
I was fine. I think the competitiveness in you still wants to go on and play, but I think my body was kind of telling me it was enough.
My knee was really giving me a hard time the last year and that last series against Philly so I think I was at peace with it. And you know, I think the Philly game was a little bit emotional afterwards because I think just knowing that probably that was going to be the last game.
If I could have rehabbed and got myself where I felt right, I would have maybe tried to give it another shot, but I think my body just told me that was it.
Grier's final game was April 26, 2011, a 5-2 Sabres loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.