"In the history of the game it's always about depth," Mike Grier’s linemate Curtis Brown said in a 2006 interview. "They're not the guys who show up in the headlines, but it's always the intangibles. The hockey people know, the real fans know.”
That describes Mike Grier to a tee. There are no highlight reels of Grier undressing goalies on YouTube. That wasn’t his game. His game, in a nutshell, was this: show up, hustle your butt off for 13 to 20 minutes of ice time per game on the third line and the penalty kill, and do whatever it takes to ensure the line you’re matched up against doesn’t score.