Mikael Granlund sees 'a lot of good things' so far with the Penguins

Things were very different for Mikael Granlund the last time the Pittsburgh Penguins played the Nashville Predators.

He was with the Predators.

After the Penguins claimed a hard-fought 3-1 road win against Granlund’s Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Feb. 28, Granlund was traded to the Penguins less than 24 hours later in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

“A little bit of a weird time,” Granlund said of that swing of events. “Everything happens really quickly. Then you move on and go out there and play hockey. Try to do your best. That’s the only thing you can do. Obviously, it’s a little bit different and weird. But that’s the name of the game here.”

So far, it’s been hard to put much of a label on Granlund’s game as a member of the Penguins, at least in a positive sense.

Primarily deployed on the second or third lines, Granlund has skated as a center and a right wing predominantly and has a smattering of special teams duties with the second power-play unit as well as the penalty kill.

All of that has equated to a mere three points (one goal, two assists) in 13 games with the Penguins before Thursday’s rematch with the Predators at PPG Paints Arena.

Averaging 16 minutes, 10 seconds of ice time per contest, Granlund’s possession metrics have been in the black. Per Natural Stat Trick, he has been on the ice for 161 shot attempts for and 154 against in five-on-five situations.

He professes satisfaction with his play to this point with the Penguins.

“I think actually there’s a lot of good things,” Granlund said. “Obviously being on the third line, a lot of defensive responsibilities, (defensive) zone draws and all of that. And the penalty kill. You just try to do your best out there and help your team however you can.”

Granlund was slated to open Thursday’s contest on the right wing of the third line with Ryan Poehling as his center.

“He obviously plays good on both sides of the puck,” Poehling said. “He can produce offensively and lock it down (defensively) if need be. He’s done a good job on the (penalty) kill. It’s tough with a midseason change (of teams), you’ve got to get used to new (systems) and whatnot. But I think he’s done a good job with that. A guy you can rely on. That’s going to be important coming down the stretch.”

For his part, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan seems to still be trying to figure out a more permanent role for Granlund, who is capable of playing all three forward positions.

“He’s versatile,” Sullivan said. “He can play the wing, either wing, can play center, kills penalties, can play on the power play. The strength of his game is his playmaking ability. He has good offensive instincts. He distributes the puck really well. My observation of watching him play at this point is he’s really good on the off wing. That’s an area that we’ve used him a fair amount. We’ve done a lot of background work on him before we acquired him on where we thought the strength of his game was and where we could utilize him. We think he’s really good on the off wing. He has the ability to distribute the puck even though he plays the wing. But he’s a conscientious guy. He plays at both ends of the rink. He has good hockey sense.

“That’s what he’s bringing to our team, however we decide to deploy him, whether it be in the middle (or) on the wing. We’ve had him up and down the lineup, mostly on the second or the third line. … His versatility, I think, makes us better. His playmaking ability helps us on whatever line he’s on.”