Granlund could be argued anywhere from 2nd-6th as the Wild's best player: Suter is 1st (I don't think there is much to debate there); with Dub, Granny, Koivu (centers do get more love than wings), Spurgeon, and Staal ranked in some order. So I can see how he could be left off of an arbitrary list top-100 list.
I do think Granny being on Koivu's line was the best thing for him the last couple of seasons. It helped transform him into a scoring threat instead of the pass first and always player he used to be. He also has become a driver and not a passenger. Some of that come simply from the move from center to wing, for sure.
The stats that jump out at me are his PP production especially in goal scoring. The Wild's PP hasn't changed much over the years, Granny has been a fixture on the halfwall basically since he joined the team. In his first four seasons (~590 PP ToI) he had a total of 4 goals, he's had 14 goals since BB took over as coach (~374 PP ToI). He'll always be a somewhat reluctant shooter and more of a pass first player, but he's at least looking to shoot before it becomes his only option.
I do think it's time to put him on the Staal line with either Nino or Parise. His game has come far enough; I don't think he'll revert to the pass 1st, 2nd, and 3rd player he used to be; to make it a 3 headed monster for goal scoring. Another part of it is I think Koivu's scoring ability has declined to the point of wasting too many of Grade-A scoring chances that it costs the team as a whole.
I do think Granny being on Koivu's line was the best thing for him the last couple of seasons. It helped transform him into a scoring threat instead of the pass first and always player he used to be. He also has become a driver and not a passenger. Some of that come simply from the move from center to wing, for sure.
The stats that jump out at me are his PP production especially in goal scoring. The Wild's PP hasn't changed much over the years, Granny has been a fixture on the halfwall basically since he joined the team. In his first four seasons (~590 PP ToI) he had a total of 4 goals, he's had 14 goals since BB took over as coach (~374 PP ToI). He'll always be a somewhat reluctant shooter and more of a pass first player, but he's at least looking to shoot before it becomes his only option.
I do think it's time to put him on the Staal line with either Nino or Parise. His game has come far enough; I don't think he'll revert to the pass 1st, 2nd, and 3rd player he used to be; to make it a 3 headed monster for goal scoring. Another part of it is I think Koivu's scoring ability has declined to the point of wasting too many of Grade-A scoring chances that it costs the team as a whole.
