Penguins Update: I Feel for Mikael Granlund
February 28, 2023.
Perhaps not a day that will live in infamy for Penguins Nation, but maybe it should. Late in the third period of a 3-1 victory over Nashville, then-Preds forward Mikael Granlund broke free and shot the puck, center mass, on Pens goalie Tristan Jarry.
As Jarry made an easy save, an eerie reverse premonition popped into my head. Something to the effect of, “Gee, I hope we don’t acquire Granlund.”
Little did I know our assistant GM Chris Pryor was singing the Finnish forward’s praises to his boss, Ron Hextall, perhaps at that very moment. Or that the very next day Hextall would acquire Granlund (and his $5 million cap hit) for a second-round pick, in the process referring to him as a “coveted” player.
The last act of a desperate GM.
The rest, as they say, is history. Although an accomplished veteran with three 60-point seasons on his resume, Granlund wasn’t what we needed in any way, shape or form. We lacked youth, speed, size and finishing ability, in no particular order.