For the second time in less than a year, Mikhail Grabovski got into a scrap with Maple Leafs teammate during practice.
In front of a few hundred season-ticket holders, Grabovski grabbed defenceman Francois Beauchemin and then punched him in the face near the end of practice this morning. But it didn’t escalate after assistant coach Tim Hunter stepped in.
“I’m okay,” Grabovski said afterward. “After a day off, everybody wants to play hard. I’m just trying to practise hard.”
In February, Grabovski and Jason Blake fought during practice.
Beauchemin refused to speak about the incident, the roots of which were not clear. Coach Ron Wilson was not about to lose any sleep over it.
“They were arguing over the last Curb Your Enthusiasm episode,” Wilson said. “Grabo did not quite understand of those some of the little idioms, and Francois, who is a master of the English language, was explaining to him.
“It happens. It’s hockey. People get more physical and upset with themselves. It leads to a minor skirmish and nothing more than that. You have more crap going on like that at home when you were 10 years old and fighting with your brothers.”
Defenceman Mike Komisarek, who has the smarts to be the next Leafs captain, had a little chat with Grabovski.
“Guys are working hard, battling and pushing each other,” Komisarek said. “It’s a good thing when you are winning or losing. I’m sure they are in the back playing ping pong right now.”
Grabovski figured the set-to might have been good for Beauchemin.
“Last time, Blake scored two (in the next game after the fight with Grabovski),” Grabovski said. “This time, Beauch will score two, you’ll see.”
terry.koshan@sunmedia.ca
