Mikael Granlund is a free agent forward that is still on the market and could fill a hole if the Bruins lose Jake DeBrusk.
If the National Hockey League is able to start the 2020-21 season around January 1, the Boston Bruins could be short a few key forwards on the left-wing. First-line left wing Brad Marchand had sports hernia surgery in September and his return target date is mid-January. Restricted free agent and second-line left wing Jake DeBrusk remains unsigned and if walks in free agency, that creates a bigger hole for the Bruins on their top two lines.
Should DeBrusk sign with another club, the Bruins will be trouble. After Marchand and DeBrusk, the next left-wing on the depth chart is Anders Bjork. General manager Don Sweeney will have to make a move if DeBrusk is indeed gone. A trade is always possible, but one option that could be a fit for the Bruins’ on the left-wing could be Mikael Granlund.
Granlund, who is a good two-way player, had a down year with the Nashville Predators last season with 17 goals and 13 assists in 63 games. In nine years in the league between the Minnesota Wild and Predators, he has 111 goals and 241 assists in 540 games.
The 28-year old Granlund was a 20-goal scorer in back to back years with the Wild. In 2016-17, he had a career-high 26 goals and 43 assists with a plus-12. The following year, he scored 21 goals with 46 assists and had a plus-18. He was dealt to the Predators on February 25, 2019 at the trade deadline for Kevin Fiala. In 16 games following the trade, he scored just one goal, after scoring 15 for the Wild before the trade. Safe to say a change of scenery did him no good.
Last season, Granlund carried a $5.75 million cap hit for Nashville before they allowed him to hit free agency this offseason. The longer he stays on the market, the better the chance a team can come to terms on a short term contract to give him an opportunity to produce and become the playmaking forward he was back in Minnesota.
With the real possibility of Marchand not being able to begin the season and DeBrusk still not re-signed with the Bruins, Granlund is not a bad option for Sweeney and the Bruins to fall back on should there be a need on left-wing. A short term deal on a player that has something to prove is not the worst thing in the world in this offseason.