Free Agent Target: Mikael Granlund is one of the better centres on the free agent market

The Calgary Flames already had one Granlund play for them in the past, so why not get his brother?

Mikael Granlund is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. If the Flames wish to contend for a post-season spot in 2025-26, one area of improvement they could make is their centre depth, and Granlund would help with that.

This is Free Agent Targets, where we look at players the Flames could target when free agency opens on July 1. Last time, we looked at Vladislav Gavrikov.

Mikael Granlund’s stats

Drafted ninth overall in the 2010 draft, the Finnish left-shot centre has been in the league for what feels like forever. He started his career with the Minnesota Wild, where he scored a career-high 26 goals and 69 points in 81 games in 2016-17. He eventually joined the Nashville Predators for parts of five seasons, where he picked up his third career 60+-point season.

He found his way to the Pittsburgh Penguins to end the 2022-23 season, before he was involved in the Erik Karlsson trade that sent the Finn to San Jose. In his first season with the Sharks, Granlund scored 12 goals and 50 points in 69 games.

Granlund started the 2024-25 season with the Sharks, scoring 15 goals and 45 points in 52 games, before being traded to the Dallas Stars, where he finished the season with seven goals and 21 points. Overall, the Finn finished with 22 goals and 66 points, the second-most goals and third-most points in a season.

For the first time in his career, Granlund made it to a Conference Final, as his Stars defeated the Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets in the first two rounds, only to lose to the Edmonton Oilers for the second consecutive Western Conference Finals.

Mikael Granlund’s contract outlook

Thanks to his fifth career 60-point season, Granlund is predicted to make about $5 million annually on a two-year contract, according to AFPAnalytics. He is worth it, as he’s a consistent producer as a second-line centre.

As for the Flames, they need to sign restricted free agents Morgan Frost and Connor Zary, but adding another $5 million a season shouldn’t be a problem for the Flames. What could be a problem is the fit.

Is Mikael Granlund a fit for the Flames

Granlund is undoubtedly a second-line centre, which would be a potential issue if signed by the Flames. Nazem Kadri is the first-line centre, Mikael Backlund is the second-line centre, and Frost is the third-line centre. Adding Granlund would give the Flames great centre depth, but resources would likely be better spent elsewhere.

Of course, there are other ways around it. Trading Backlund likely isn’t a realistic option, but acquiring assets for their 36-year-old captain wouldn’t be the worst thing they could do. A more realistic option for the Flames if they were to sign Granlund, would push Frost to the wing. Therefore, they would be able to run Kadri-Granlund-Backlund as their first three centres.

That said, the money should probably be used to upgrade more pressing needs, such as on a top-six winger or a left-shot defenceman to give them four top-four defencemen.