Confirmed Trade: [PIT/NSH] Mikael Granlund for 2023 2nd round pick

[Giskard]

You do realize he’s only 31 and has two more years left, right?

I don’t buy that this season is how he is

You say this as it was a positive fact.
The two more years is the problem.

 

[LCPreds]

You say this as it was a positive fact.
The two more years is the problem.

He could be twice as good and still not be worth the contract.

 

[orby]

This felt like a panic move from the start, and with the Pens missing the playoffs, it only seems more boneheaded. Granlund is not a fit with this team and they'll likely be stuck with him for a while.

 

[Al Lagoon]

There are Wild fans who will stick to their guns thinking that Nashville should have added to Fiala when they traded for Granlund.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Assuming the Pens don't re-sign Zucker, then at least they should be able to move Granlund up to a top-6 winger spot next season, which should resurrect his value significantly. Rakell was probably playing too well to build the Zucker-Malkin-Granlund line that would have been best for him, but next season they should be able to get enough production out of Granlund to rehabilitate his market value if nothing else.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

No GM that makes a move like this should ever work again.

 

[Extra Texture]

No GM that makes a move like this should ever work again.

100%. Hopefully he is out of his current job by the weekend.

No move reeks more of a complete letdown than saying "our bottom 6 isnt scoring enough" and deciding to move McGinn, Kapanen, and Blueger for next to no cost. And then turning around and acquiring this dud.

He could be twice as good and still not be worth the contract.

If you extrapolate it over a full season, 40 points isnt bad, but 8 goals is f***ing woeful. I know he wasnt meant to be a scorer, but my god was he useless bearing down on goal.

 

[Extra Texture]

Assuming the Pens don't re-sign Zucker, then at least they should be able to move Granlund up to a top-6 winger spot next season, which should resurrect his value significantly. Rakell was probably playing too well to build the Zucker-Malkin-Granlund line that would have been best for him, but next season they should be able to get enough production out of Granlund to rehabilitate his market value if nothing else.

One can hope. Depth scoring is decimated and the goalie position is in shambles. And the 25m in cap they had to address those issues and retain Zucker has now been cut to 20m. Granlund on the payroll all but guarantees Zucker is gone, so it basically has to be done (IMO....I think every bit of that 20m is going to be needed to get anything good in depth forwards, replace Jarry and replace Dumoulin).

And like you said, it makes no sense to invest in another top 6er that is going to ensure Granlund remains another square peg in a round hole for the next 2 years. Though, I wouldnt put it past Hextall.

 

[herzausstein]

Assuming the Pens don't re-sign Zucker, then at least they should be able to move Granlund up to a top-6 winger spot next season, which should resurrect his value significantly. Rakell was probably playing too well to build the Zucker-Malkin-Granlund line that would have been best for him, but next season they should be able to get enough production out of Granlund to rehabilitate his market value if nothing else.

Granlund centering Duchene and Forsberg during career years where they both got 40+ goals netted him a 64 point season. This is while getting about 19 mins a game of icetime and PP1 time. Realistically, he shouldnt be producing as bad as he did in Pittsburgh but he was spoon fed minutes with Nashville’s better forwards and didnt produce better than a 50ish point pace most years.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Granlund centering Duchene and Forsberg during career years where they both got 40+ goals netted him a 64 point season. This is while getting about 19 mins a game of icetime and PP1 time. Realistically, he shouldnt be producing as bad as he did in Pittsburgh but he was spoon fed minutes with Nashville’s better forwards and didnt produce better than a 50ish point pace most years.

Exactly. And that player is sort of/arguably worth around $5M. But you need the kind of desperation and opportunity to spoonfeed him to get that. If you have it, he's not a bad player. As when centering Forsberg and Duchene and getting 64 points. If you don't have that situation, and especially if you put him on a lower line without talented linemates, he's going to be utterly useless. Enter the Penguins.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Who would have guessed that acquiring a playmaking offensive winger and trying to shoehorn him into a defensive 3C position wouldn't work out well?

What's funny is that Granlund actually performed pretty decently analytically overall. He had a 56.7% xGF% at 5v5 wioth the Penguins, which was above the team average for that time. Considering he was only getting 29.5% offensive zone starts, that's really not bad. Considering how grossly he was misused, he actually performed decently well in that role statistically.

On a wing with players that can benefit from his vision his passing, PP time, and no more than ~16mins per game. Coaches keep trying to use him as a center and overplaying him in two-way roles because he's versatile, intelligent, and seems to be a "will do whatever the coach asks" type. He can be a really good complimentary winger if he is sheltered and managed the right way.

Yeah, exactly. It's the same exact shit that happened to Jeff Carter last year with the Penguins. When Malkin was out, Carter was being used as a 2-way 2C and had 26 points in his first 36 games that year. As soon as Malkin got back, Carter was pushed into a pure defensive 3C role, and his play fell off a cliff.

Of course the response was "Carter sucks now" and not "Sullivan is putting him in a position to fail". Same exact shit happened with Granlund. He's a playmaking scoring line winger, what were you expecting from him by giving him pure defensive assignments?

 

[Ovi895]

Reminds me of when the Pens paid Cole, Reaves, 1st for Brassard. Some players just don't work there and you can see it from a mile away

Niederriter would have been a much better and cheaper fit and he also only cost a second

 

[Empoleon8771]

Reminds me of when the Pens paid Cole, Reaves, 1st for Brassard. Some players just don't work there and you can see it from a mile away

Niederriter would have been a much better and cheaper fit and he also only cost a second

I completely agree that they should have traded for Niederreiter instead, but I don't think Niederreiter would have done much better than Granlund in the role he was put in.

What the Penguins should have done is put Granlund (or Niederreiter preferably) in a top-6 role and push Rust to the 3rd line. Rust is actually suited for a defensive line role and can be the line driver for that 3rd line. Instead, he was stapled to Crosby as Granlund was horribly miscast on the 3rd line.