Ron Hextall: Mikael Granlund a 'coveted' player over last several NHL trade deadlines

When the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired 31-year-old forward Mikael Granlund from Nashville on Wednesday, it seemed to be met with a lukewarm response by the team’s fans and some hockey pundits alike.

That was somewhat predictable, considering that around the same time, the Ottawa Senators were completing a deal with the Arizona Coyotes for Jakob Chychrun, a 24-year-old blueliner that general manager Ron Hextall had been linked to.

After such a shiny object in Chychrun was dangled as a possible acquisition by Hextall only to be snatched away by the Senators, the Penguins coming away with Granlund did not have the look of a swing-for-the-fences move that seemingly needed to be made in order to elevate them from the brink of missing the playoffs.

It is doubtful that Hextall allows himself to be distracted by base critiques of his approach to the trade deadline or in general. After all, he hardly appeared phased by fans’ vocal chants for him to be fired recently at PPG Paints Arena.

#FireHextall Chants at PPG Paints Arena… one the worst games I’ve ever been to. #LetsGoPens #Pens pic.twitter.com/yHUdKVBKyo

— Did the Pens Win? (@DidPengWin) February 24, 2023

But looking at Granlund, Hextall is satisfied that the Oulu, Finland, native can make a splash within a Penguins’ bottom-six that has lacked an offensive punch for much of this season.

“We really like Mikael,” Hextall said. “He’s a guy that we actually tried to get a couple years ago at the deadline. I talked to three or four GMs today that said they’ve tried to get him the last couple years, so he was, I think, a coveted player, because of his versatility.”

Granlund debuted with the Penguins on Thursday night at Tampa Bay, skating for 16 minutes, 16 seconds, primarily at right wing on Jeff Carter’s third line, in a 5-4 Penguins overtime win.

In 58 games played with the Predators before being sent to the Penguins, Granlund had nine goals and 27 assists.

Granlund is signed through the 2024-25 season with a cap hit of $5 million, per CapFriendly.

“I think Mikael Granlund is a really smart player,” Hextall said. “When you start looking at your lines, you look for guys who kind of connect the dots and make plays. (He’s a) very intelligent player who can find guys when they’re open.

“He’s a very responsible defensive player. He can play all three positions, so when you’re trying to tweak a line, you’re looking for a guy who has some versatility. That’s what we feel Mikael brings there, so we’re thrilled with the addition.”

How Granlund will continue to be deployed by the Penguins remains to be seen, but he certainly presents coach Mike Sullivan with some options.

Granlund can play all three forward positions and was a regular on both special teams during his five seasons in Nashville.

On Thursday, Sullivan promptly popped him into the penalty-kill unit, where he logged 3:50 in a game that saw the Penguins surrender five power-play chances to the Lightning.

Furthermore, Sullivan may opt to work at rekindling some dormant rapport that may still exist between Granlund and Jason Zucker, as the two were teammates and regular linemates earlier in their careers with Minnesota.

Granlund and Zucker played together on the Wild from 2012-19, with Granlund’s two most productive campaigns coming in 2016-17 (26 goals, 43 assists) and 2017-18 (21 goals, 46 assists).

Sullivan will have some more tinkering to do in the coming days, with the Penguins acquiring another piece of reinforcements to the bottom six in Nick Bonino, who was dealt to Pittsburgh from San Jose on Friday.

Additionally, Hextall revealed Friday that rookie winger Drew O’Connor, assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League in a paper move designed to keep the 24-year-old available to play in the AHL playoffs if needed, will be called back up to the Penguins on Saturday.

With Granlund already in the lineup and O’Connor and Bonino expected to be available for the Penguins’ Saturday evening game against the Florida Panthers, which should also feature newly acquired defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, Sullivan’s new-look lineup card will likely be debuted by the end of the weekend.

“It was one sample size, but I thought they looked good the other night (at Tampa Bay),” Hextall said. “I like the way our team’s playing, I like our team and we wanted to enhance our chances and get better. We feel like we did that.”