The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired Mikael Granlund from Nashville for a second-round pick.
Mikael Granlund is on a bit of a hot streak right now with 6 points in his last 4 games played with the Predators. He’s a veteran forward with decent enough playmaking skills. He doesn’t score a lot which makes me concerned for Pittsburgh with this acquisition. He could hit the ice in Pittsburgh and click in the system and we could see a big boost in points for Granlund. Or…he could maintain his average-at-best numbers and Granlund will continue to be a name that makes you go “wait…who’s that, again?”
If the playoffs started right now, Pittsburgh just barely squeaks in while Nashville misses by just a few points.
Is it worth it?
If we really look at the big picture, with NYR getting Tarasenko & Kane, OTT getting Chychrun, CAR getting Gostisbehere, and so on and so on…I’m really questioning Ron Hextall on this decision. For a hot second, the rumor was that Hextal was in on Miller, Boeser, and JVR…I’m sure he could have managed to get someone younger or perhaps taller than 5 ft 10, 31-year-old Mikael Granlund but to each their own I suppose. Granlund has two seasons remaining at $5mil. Ron Hextal just put Kapanen on waivers ($3.2mil) and is probably going to send Brock McGinn ($2.75mil) to the AHL to waste away. Why pick up one player for the same cap hit as two younger ones? I don’t get it, Ron. Can you please draw me a picture? Thanks.
There are a lot of other players that would make sense for Pittsburgh. Brock Boeser is a name that comes to mind. If we want to stick with the Preds theme, we could go with Matt Duchene. Matt Duchene is also a veteran player but he’s actually very good at what he does and he puts up exceptional numbers nearly every season.
With all of this being said, this has got to be the most disappointing trade of this season. I don’t see the benefit of this for Pittsburgh. They held onto their draft picks like they were made of gold and then just gave them away…for Mikael Granlund. Really looking forward to watching the Pens try to save this one. Godspeed gentlemen. (saluting emoji)
