By who? Nobody would ever call him a grinder, he is a playmaker through and through, and complains about everything
former teammate Eric fehr coined the phrase, and i've heard hockey analysts use it as well. I agree he is a playmaker and one of the best. by grinder its just implied how dedicated and hard working he is and doesn't just coast around out there and give 50%. I will disagree on the last part. I think his intensity gets misread as complaining or having a bad attitude. He's just the fiercest competitor.