According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired forward Mikael Granlund from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2023 second-round pick.
Granlund, 31, has registered nine goals and 27 assists for 36 points in 58 games this season. The Finnish center is signed through 2024-25 with a cap hit of $5M according to our friends at CapFriendly.
Granlund was originally selected ninth overall in the 2010 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild and made his NHL debut during the 2012-13 campaign. Granlund was acquired by the Predators at the 2018-19 trade deadline in exchange for forward Kevin Fiala.
He set a career-high in assists last season at 53, finishing off the season with 11 goals and 64 points. Throughout his time with the Preds and the Wild, Granlund has notched 479 points (144 goals, 335 assists) in 729 games. He added 11 goals and 21 assists for 32 points in 59 playoff contests.
He was ranked No. 6 on Frank Seravalli’s Trade Targets board here. As Seravalli states, “Granlund hails from Finland, but he might as well be from Switzerland because he is the perfect Swiss Army Knife for any contending team. He impacts the game in so many different ways.”
The Penguins earlier Wednesday traded forward Teddy Blueger to the Vegas Golden Knights, and now with the addition of Granlund, one has to wonder if general manager Ron Hextall and the Penguins are finished.
The Predators continue to be sellers. President of Hockey Operations David Poile is sure to keep himself busy as he wages through the final few months of his tenure with the Predators.
So far he’s traded Nino Niederreiter, Tanner Jeannot, Mattias Ekholm and now Granlund. Is the yard sale over? We will find out soon.
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