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. What we got was an aging, pricey setup man (albeit a very good one) with a weak shot and a pass-first mentality.
A rich man’s Dominik Simon, if you will.
Skating in 21 largely forgettable games for the black and gold, Granlund tallied a lone goal and five measly points. The Pens were a lackluster 9-10-2 over that stretch.
Now his name’s being bandied about as a prime candidate for a buyout. A decision I wholeheartedly endorse. Through no fault of his own, he simply doesn’t fit here. Certainly not as a potential top-six replacement for UFA-to-be and former Wild teammate Jason Zucker.
But none of this is the real point of my article.
Rather, I feel for Granlund. He certainly didn’t ask to be traded. And he arrived in town to a firestorm of criticism over the deal among the media and fan base.
Talk about feeling unwanted. It had to hurt.
I’m sure he was aware of all the negative press. It would be almost impossible to tune it all out. Putting myself in his shoes, I can only imagine what it would be like to wake up each and every day and see my name splashed across the blog-o-sphere as if I was some sort of pariah.
In a way, he became the poster child for Hextall’s failures.
Granlund’s failings with the Pens weren’t due to a lack of effort or try. Expected to prop up our woeful bottom-six, he was put in a position to fail.
If the Pens acting GM, Kyle Dubas, executes a buyout as expected, I hope Granlund is signed by another club and I hope he succeeds. Jack Johnson received similar shabby treatment here, yet went on to hoist a Cup with Colorado.
Maybe it’ll be the same for Granlund.
Golden (Knights) Blueprint for a Cup
After watching Vegas eviscerate a very good Florida team in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final, the blueprint for playoff success is crystal clear.
While, Jack Eichel aside, the Golden Knights lack true star power at the top of the lineup, they’re a deep team from top to bottom. They feature a near optimal blend of youth and experience to go with speed, skill, grit and toughness. And they’re exceptionally well coached by Bruce Cassidy.
I especially want to emphasize the last two points. I find it both revealing and instructive that Pens coach Mike Sullivan was quick to go public with his insistence about our need for more speed shortly after Dubas was hired.
While I don’t disagree with him, it almost seemed like a power grab. A thinly veiled attempt to paint Dubas into a corner while trying to exert control over the roster construction (or re-construction) process.
True to form, nowhere did he mention a need for aggression or toughness.
Again, let’s look at the Golden Knights. For every Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson, they boast a William Carrier and a Keegan Kolesar. For every puck mover on defense like Shea Theodore, there’s a rugged all-arounder like Nicolas Hague and Brayden McNabb.
Even “skilled” middle-sixer Ivan Barbashev has made like a bulldozer in a construction yard while dishing out some seismic hits, including a Game 2 demo job on Panthers masher Radko Gudas.
Can you imagine any of our current Penguins doing that? Ever?
Yes, speed is important. But other elements are, too.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I don’t want Sullivan dictating personnel choices.
Hey Rick,
Good article Rick, often we forget the human side of things. It isn’t Granlund’s fault that he is here in Pgh and he is far, far better than Simon. Sorry Rick, but Simon’s name should not even be spoken in the same month as Granlund’s, he is that far removed in every way shape and form from Simon. Sand TOI with Crosby, Simon couldn’t even score Goals or pick up assists in the Chech league. Look up the word Pylon in the dictionary and you will see a picture of Simon. players like Simon only get points when the puck accidentally bounces off of them and onto the stick of talent like Sid.
As you noted 3 times Granlund topped the 60 point mark, peaking at 67. Moreover, Granlund has averaged 15 Gs and 53 Pts per 82 GP, in his NHL career. The human pylon averaged less than half of that per 82 GP (7 G and 25 Pts) and last season Sullivan’s buddy could only manage 2 G and 1 A for Spartha.
Granlund was just 1 more perimeter player (albeit a fairly talented play making perimeter player) on a roster full of perimeter players. His failure here in Pgh wasn’t his fault. Bringing him to Pittsburgh was the equivalent of giving another cake to a diabetic who has eaten nothing but cake since 2018. Ganlund’s failures in Pittsburgh were really Hextall’s and Sullivan’s failures. Granlund is simply taking the blame that rightfully goes to the Coach and the GM.
And since you invoked his name, let me say, I would not be surprised to find out that Sullivan is pushing to bring back Simon to disgrace this roster once more. He offered him a contract last season, i can see him offering Simon another one this season. I don’t see Sullivan getting over this love affair.
As for buying out Granlund, No, No, No. Effectively, there is no difference in this strategy than there is in the failed “Let’s add more high priced fossils to go all-in” strategy that has led this team to its current abysmal state. Yes, try and move him out via trade. The team doesn’t need another perimeter player. However, just rip the stinking band-aid off the arterial bleeder. Stop with the dying by inches. Granlund only has 2 years left on his contract and he averages 53 pts/82 GP. He actually should be trade able. Don’t rush it and take on dead cap space for several years. Jack Johnson’s buyout is still on the books and will be another 2 years after this season. Be patient. There will be a team team needing a play maker. Even if you have to retain salary to move him, that salary retention will clear in 2 seasons rather than the 7 or 8 a buyout will hang around.
As for Sullivan and his need for more speed, reality check – the difference in actual foot speed between players isn’t all that much in a 200′ rink. The real difference in game speed or lack there of that this team displays is not physical but in poor coaching.
1st have you been watching the playoffs this season? do you remember when this team was good? Players on teams that win in the playoffs never stop moving in any of the zones. Our Penguins, well they stand around the perimeter of the offensive zone, race out of the defensive zone, often before the puck clears only to stand around the opponents blue line, and only in the D-Zone do they skate, chasing the puck around like 6 year olds, rather than playing their positions and clearing their net. Newton’s first Law of Motion a body at rest tends to remain at rest, a body in motion tends to remain in motion. Acceleration is a lot faster when you don’t have to overcome inertia.
Second, when you do not change your strategies and everybody knows your strategies, they can race to where you are trying to go a whole lot faster than they would if they had to wait to see the direction.
And speaking of hesitations, it also slows you down when your strategies become to complex and players have to constantly be reading both opponents and your own players because of too many options.
The team doesn’t need more speed merchants as much as it needs to adopt a moving attacking offense that tries to penetrate the slot and isn’t ashamed to bounce passes off opposing goalies legs in a shot like manner rather than wait to find that cute give and go along the wall or in the corner. The team will look whole lot faster if they changed up their strategies from game to game so opponents would have to be the ones hesitating to see where the play was going and not simply reacting to reads that they have seen in game films since 2016. And finally, if the Coach would simplify the in game reads so his players weren’t the ones having to hesitate all of the time, they would again look 10 times quicker.
Bottom line is that adding the size and grit we fans want will not slow this team down. The coach is doing that himself with his uninspired avoid contact at all costs in all three zones strategies.
Hey Other Rick,
I just have a moment. But GREAT thoughts, and you make an exceedingly astute point when it comes to speed. I believe it was Chris Kunitz who said back when we won our Cups that we weren’t necessarily the fastest team in the league, but we “played the fastest.” Which reinforces your point.
Rick
PS–I figured mentioning Simon and Sullivan in the same article would illicit a response… 🙂
Well said Rick.
I fully agree that speed alone will not be the deciding factor whether we make it back to the Cup finals . Size, grit and toughness,skill levels, depth on all 4 lines, new Goal tending and most importantly is a serious upgrade to most of the defense corps. But even with all of these changes Rick I can not be sure that Sully would not be out coached.
He is just to predictable and we now only play one style. We have grown stale. This Roster needs serious work at all positions and I believe Dubas will do that.
Vegas as did the AVS last year won because they could play several different styles as their opponents dictated.
We can not.
Jim
Hello my friend. Very astute comments.
Tim Benz of the Tribune Review is one of the few local writers who regularly takes Sullivan to task. He recently echoed your sentiments, stating that Sullivan continues to stick with familiar systems that haven’t worked since 2018.
I hope Dubas will be able to stand his ground and dictate to Sullivan, rather than the other way around. He had to deal with Mike Babcock early in his tenure in Toronto, like Sullivan inherited from a previous regime, so I think he’ll be up to the task.
Rick
Rick FYI,
There was a report out of Toronto saying that Dubas has signed a long term contract for 7 years and with over 45 million plus incentives in value. FSG ownership has definitely made a serious commitment to Kyle Dubas and he has total authority for the entire Hockey operations. He reports to the two major owners of FSG the article states.
Dubas is well aware of the real power he actually wields.Give him 2 years and this team will be much different than it looks today. This gives me hope for the future.
Jim
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