Markus Granlund, a pleasant surprise this season?

[Kaptah]

8 points in 17 games, +3, averaging 5th most ice-time among forwards. A pleasant surprise to start the season?

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[Lonny Bohonos]

Ok player. Just watching yhe game now and with 5 mins left in the 2nd he could have had 2 goals if he took his time.

Just lacks that smarts to slow it down a bit.

 

[F A N]

Not really. At this stage in his career, the odds are Granlund won't be a top 6 player in the NHL. He's really somewhere between average to above average swiss army knife type player who is somewhere between a 3rd line and a 4th line player. Don't get me wrong, I do think he's a legitimate NHL player who is a useful player to have in the NHL unlike some others here who thinks he belongs in the AHL but he's one of those players without standout qualities.

I think that if he was a waiver wire pickup by Gillis there would be much fewer posters here who are critical of him. He's really solid all around with few weaknesses. Obviously Green trusts him and there are good reasons for that. He doesn't have exceptional hockey IQ that allows him to be a creative playmaker. But he does have high enough hockey IQ where rarely do you see him make poor decisions. He's not great offensively but he is skilled enough to not look out of place alongside skilled players and he has shown that he is capable of producing offensively. He's not great defensively but he's solid and a guy you can trust defensively. He's also 25, on a one year contract who can play wing or C. Is he a replacement level player? Yes in the sense that you can replace him with another NHL player but not replacement level as in you can replace him with a fringe NHL player.

Basically, I think Granlund is the type of player that at his current age you don't mind having as long as he's on a decent contract. If he is made expendable that's fine. Otherwise he's a useful player that there's really little reason to hate.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Considering I had him pegged to be waived after camp, I’ve been quite impressed with him this year. He’s been very solid on the PK for us, he’s a decent second unit PP option, he’s chipped in offensively, and while he’s not terrific defensively at even strength, he’s done some solid work since Sutter and Beagle have gone down.

Pretty good for a guy I didn’t think would crack the lineup to start the year. Kudos where they are due.

 

[DL44]

Very high IQ player... makes him very good positionally defensively and puts himself in the right place to find the soft spots offensively.. enough to earn a lot of good shots on net and seemingly 2 prime scoring opportunities per game..

He lacks some strength on his skates, and a past criticism has been losing board battles - but that's been ok this yr.
He has a strong shot... but lacks high end or goal scorer's accuracy consistency. It seems he could be sitting with 5-6-7 goals right now.

His PKing is at a new level this yr... a significant part of the reason its jumped up a couple tiers from last yr and now a strength of the team.

This is his 25 yr old season... will become even a better defensive player over the next few years.. offensively this should be close to his peak performance season..

 

[Curmudgeon]

Didn't necessarily see this start to the season coming but Granlund is turning into a solid 4th liner and utility player. Sometimes I see the blown chances and say "get him out of there" yet the end contribution from him is usually more positive than not. Hopefully he can keep it up.

 

[Regress2TheMeme]

He's got some skill and smarts. He's just not that big or fast. He's been a quality utility player for the Canucks this year. Like a lot of guys that really struggled to do much the last couple years he's shown some real improvement this season.

 

[alicia]

He's the Emil Pettersson version of the Granlund brothers, but I've been happy with his play thus far. It's a team game, and he's contributed where he can. He won't ever be a star in this league, but not everyone can be.

 

[nucksflailtogether]

Liking his game a lot. Could end up being a guy who sticks around in his role for a while, like Hansen but obviously slower.

 

[LeftCoast]

Granlund is what I've been saying he is for the last 3 years - a decent utility player who can play all three forward positions. He can produce well (19 goals in 2016-17) when given ice time, PP time and offensive line mates, but on a good team, there are usually better scoring options. He can PK, play solid defensive hockey when utilized in that role, but is no Selke candidate. He skates well enough and plays with pace, but lacks elite speed and explosiveness. He can handle physical play, but doesn't initiate it.

He's basically the perfect, low maintenance depth player as long as you are not in need of top end skill, top end speed, elite play making, scoring or standout physical play.

 

[VanJack]

Granlund is a Swiss Army Knife kind of player. Can switch from wing to center; decent in the faceoff circle; and doesn't really hurt you out there in third-fourth line minutes. Can also kill penalties in a pinch.

Just too bad the guy is cursed around the net. At least 5-6 eyeball to eyeball chances with the goalie in the past two games and can't finish. Don't see how they can protect him in the next Expansion Draft though, so he probably ends up Seattle eventually.

 

[Siludin]

He's great. He plays every position and plays strong defensively. He can be be a Manny Malhotra type if he can get good at faceoffs, otherwise he is a good second centre for defensive zone starts.

 

[Fire Benning]

He's been decent recently but for the first 8-10 games of the season I legitimately forgot he played for the team.

 

[Nomobo]

The most versatile player on our team.

 

[DFAC]

Good bottom 6, jack of all trades kinda guy.

 

[mossey3535]

He's weak, doesn't make good clears or win board battles. Is often behind the play on both ends. I don't know how you could conclude he skates well. Doesn't always skate for pucks, even in offensive opportunities.

Offensively does well with LOTS of time and space. Doesn't finish well unless he has that time and space.

Drives me crazy with his floater tendencies. Lets up on every forecheck. Allergic to contact, will try to make a lame stick check instead of gaining body position or hitting.

Also terrible with faceoffs. Why? Because he doesn't use body position to win them.

You guys just look at the stat line and come to this conclusion. He's been good in about 3-4 games this season.

 

[Nomobo]

He's weak, doesn't make good clears or win board battles. Is often behind the play on both ends. I don't know how you could conclude he skates well. Doesn't always skate for pucks, even in offensive opportunities.

Offensively does well with LOTS of time and space. Doesn't finish well unless he has that time and space.

Drives me crazy with his floater tendencies. Lets up on every forecheck. Allergic to contact, will try to make a lame stick check instead of gaining body position or hitting.

Also terrible with faceoffs. Why? Because he doesn't use body position to win them.

You guys just look at the stat line and come to this conclusion. He's been good in about 3-4 games this season.

What I know is that he’s your favorite whipping boy.

 

[Kaptah]

Pretty nice pass...

 

[VanJack]

He's a useful bottom of the roster forward, but it's too bad he doesn't have the offensive talents of his older brother Mikael in Minny. He's had so many glorious chances in the last three games, but just no finish. But can shift from wing to center with equal facility. So on an injury-plagued team like the Canucks he's a valuable guy.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Meh. He'll fall off. He always does. Just another bottom six guy of the kind we've already got lots of.

 

[Laista]

Granlund made some great plays and took the struggle infront of the Net, he is strong and great balance in Close Combat.
He lacks some "smartness" but he will for Sure be a Great PlayOff player. I really like him.
He is one of those players that needs some good linemates so his work make sense (if you know how i think )

 

[F A N]

he is strong and great balance in Close Combat.

Can he beat Khabib?

 

[StreetHawk]

If he can play at this level over the season maybe that will make him tradable for a 3rd or something at the tdl or make sutter expendable if gaudette is ready for C duties next season as Beagle is locked in at 4C. He’s that guy you like to have around to move around the lineup. He’s useful.

Again at the right contract, so under $2 million is the right number that you keep him around for.

 

[MS]

He's been decent recently but for the first 8-10 games of the season I legitimately forgot he played for the team.

Yup.

He's had a really nice last 5-6 games and is moving his feet and competing with some purpose.

The first 12 games of the season he had 1 point that wasn't into an EN and was the same old invisible soft slow ghost we saw last year.

Seems to have taken the opportunity created by the Sutter injury to heart and upped his compete level. Will see if he keeps it up. I have my doubts, based on past history.

 

[ddawg1950]

I always expect bottom six guys to have some toughness, unyielding levels of compete and ultimately, hands of stone.

In that sense, Granlund is none of those.

But he does have above average defensive awareness and shows some offensive flair now and then. He doesn't fit the standard mold for either top six or bottom six forwards and that causes some pretty divergent opinions within the fan base.

But he seems serviceable.