TAMPA, Fla. -- Mikael Granlund said that he didn't see a trade coming.
He knew Nashville was looking to make changes this trade deadline. The Predators sit eight points out of a playoff spot and are looking to be sellers as the March 3 trade deadline approaches.
Granlund said that he was "caught off guard," though when he was the one on the way out. He was with the Predators in south Florida on Wednesday night preparing for a game with the Panthers when he learned that he had been dealt to the Penguins. He got in a car that evening and made the four-hour drive to the other side of the state, where his new team was awaiting him in Tampa.
Granlund was on the ice for the Penguins' morning skate as the team prepares for Thursday's game against the Lightning here at Amalie Arena. He's looking to bring a smart, responsible and versatile game to the Penguins' lineup.
Granlund, who is a left-handed shot, has extensive experience at center and both wings throughout his career, and expressed a comfort level with all three positions. At Thursday's morning skate he skated on the right side of the Penguins' third line, opposite Danton Heinen and centered by Jeff Carter. Though he killed penalties and was on the top power play unit in Nashville, he didn't work with either power play unit in the skate, and instead worked with one of the penalty-killing units. Mike Sullivan said afterward that the immediate plan is to get him in on the penalty-kill, then introduce him in on the power play after. With him already having to learn a new system at five-on-five, the penalty-kill, Sullivan said that they didn't want to "overload" him with information all at once. He does see Granlund as a player that they can use in all situations, however.
"I think it will be a little bit of a work in progress," Sullivan said of Granlund's deployment. "What I know is that he's a real mobile guy who has versatility to his game. ... We're excited to have him, we're looking forward to trying to find combinations here that make us better and give us a chance to win."
Granlund, who has nine goal and 27 assists in 58 games this season, described himself as a "pretty smart player."
"I can play in a lot of defensive situations and different positions," he added. "Whatever the role is, I try to bring my best every night."
Granlund's new teammates don't have to remember too far back for a scouting report on him. He was in the lineup against the Penguins two nights ago in Nashville, a game that began with Tristan Jarry stoning Granlund on a breakaway 20 seconds into the game, then ended with Jarry making a sprawling save to maintain the lead in the final minute.
"He's really hard on pucks," Brian Dumoulin told me of what he knows of Granlund's game. "He's really solid. Obviously he got a breakaway the first shift of the game. I mean, that play was really good timing on him. He's hard to knock off pucks, that's what I most noticed right away."
Granlund's stall in the Penguins' locker room was right next to an old friend and linemate from his time in Minnesota in Jason Zucker. The two were drafted by the Wild in 2010 and came up through the Wild's system together before becoming linemates at the NHL level. I asked Granlund what it was like to be reunited with Zucker, and Zucker chimed in with a "The best! Best! Best!" from his stall, drawing a chuckle out of Granlund.
"Oh, he's the best," Granlund confirmed with a big grin. "It's great. We grew up together in Minnesota for many years and played on the same line for a lot of years. It's good to see him again."
Granlund was on the wing opposite Zucker when the two were teammates in Minnesota. Zucker called Granlund and "unbelievably skilled player," and praised Granlund's defensive abilities, then quipped that he can thank Granlund for getting him his contract, "because I didn't really do much. I just stood there and he passed me the puck." Granlund was asked afterward if that's true that he's responsible for getting Zucker paid, and Granlund responded with a "Well... I'm not denying it," and a smirk.
Granlund's old team in the Predators likely won't be making the postseason this year. The Penguins, though, currently have a three-point hold on the second wild card spot in the East, and sit one point behind the Islanders for the first wild card spot with four games in hand. Granlund is relishing the opportunity to join a team for a playoff race this time of year.
"It's really exciting," he said. "You know the history that this team has and all the great things that they've been doing. Hopefully we can make something special this season as well. I'm really excited about it, it's a good team and a good locker room."
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• Jarry will start.
• Ryan Poehling was absent from the skate, after he was a full participant in Tuesday's morning skate for the first time. Sullivan said that Poehling took a "step back" in his upper-body injury rehab after Tuesday's morning skate. You have to feel for Poehling, who has been dealing with the same upper-body injury since Dec. 1, and has been in and out of the lineup since. In case you missed it, I spoke one-on-one with Poehling about the process and any potential summer rehab on Tuesday.
• The Drake Caggiula recall I reported yesterday was made official this morning, and he was on the ice for the morning skate skating on the fourth line. I asked Sullivan why Caggiula got the call over some of the other forward options down in Wilkes-Barre.
"There were multiple conversations around it," Sullivan said. "What I will tell you is that we rely on Hextall and (head coach J.D. Forrest) and his staff down there with respect to those things and the type of player we need to fill certain roles."
Sullivan didn't mention this specifically, but Caggiula's ability to play center had to be a big factor -- he's the best available forward from Wilkes-Barre who can play center. Drew O'Connor is currently centering the fourth line after Teddy Blueger was traded, but Sullivan has expressed a preference for O'Connor on the wing on a number of occasions. We could see a feeling-out process here with those two moving back and forth between the wing and center positions until they find out which combination works best.
• The Penguins used these lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen - Jeff Carter - Mikael Granlund
Drake Caggiula - Drew O'Connor - Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - Jeff Petry
P.O Joseph - Jan Rutta
(Chad Ruhwedel rotated in with the third pairing)
• The power play units remained the same. The top unit was Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Rickard Rakell, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. The second unit was Carter, Heinen, Zucker, Bryan Rust and Jeff Petry.
• I spoke with Dumoulin about Blueger getting traded: "It's tough, it's sad," Dumoulin told me. "He's a good friend of mine. He's definitely a guy that I'll stay in touch with for the rest of my career. It's definitely tough, but I hope he has a great opportunity and a good run in Vegas."
Sullivan called Blueger a "very good player for us" and spoke of the challenges of replacing Blueger.
"He's a smart player, a two-way player," Sullivan added of Blueger. "I think the strength of his game is in his defense, his penalty-killing prowess. Those are the areas where we're going to have to try to get guys to fill in. Granlund is a guy that is a good penalty-killer that has had time there whether it's been in Nashville or with other teams. That's one option for us. Drew O'Connor is another guy we can lean on in stepping up his role, that's something we may look to do. We still have Poehls when Poehls is in the lineup, he's a very good penalty-killer for us. Rusty does a good job for us, (Josh Archibald) is another guy. The biggest challenge is the center ice position on the penalty kill. That's the area where the D-Zone faceoffs and things in that area, we can use Carts in those circumstances. Teddy was a guy we relied on in a lot of those situations."
• Granlund said that his name is pronounced "ma-KY-ell," though he added that he really doesn't care how its said. His nickname is "Granny."
• Granlund will continue to wear his No. 64 with the Penguins. He's the first to do so in franchise history.
