Derek Stepan had one of the chirps of the year after Grabner signed with the Coyotes

BarDown Staff

Michael Grabner. , Adam Hunger/Getty Images

While everyone was going bonkers in Toronto after John Tavares signed a 7-year deal with the Maple Leafs, other action was going on across the continent.

Earlier today, The Arizona Coyotes welcomed Michael Grabner to the squad with a three year deal with a AAV of $3,350,000.

Coyotes sign Grabner to three-year, $10.05M deal. MORE: https://t.co/ust0UYP1EB pic.twitter.com/UDU4Y8dHSo
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) July 1, 2018

The move to the desert reunites Grabner with one of his former New York Rangers teammate; veteran centre Derek Stepan. After the signing was made official, Stepan roasted Grabs with a fantastic tweet.

Welcome to the desert @grabs40.. Now you’re back to being the second best bod on the team! #Yotes
— Derek Stepan (@DerekStepan21) July 1, 2018

Hey, at least he’s acknowledging that he has a nice body?

The two spent the 2016-17 season together before Stepan was traded to the Coyotes prior to last season. Grabner has been all over the league, including stints with the New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, and New Jersey Devils.

What a fun experience today and great ending..Glad i could be part of an event like that..hope you guys enjoyed it as much as we did #winterclassic #newyearsday

A post shared by Michael Grabner (@grabner40) on Jan 1, 2018 at 2:51pm PST

Arizona struggled to begin the 2017-18 season but were one of the league’s better teams post-All-Star break. Grabner, a player coming off of back-to-back 27 goal seasons, should only help them more come October.

(H/T Derek Stepan)