2. The Boston Bruins should consider signing Mikael Granlund.
Mikael Granlund is the youngest player on this list at 28 years old and could be what the B’s need at right wing. Additionally, he also has the ability to slot in at center if the team needed it.
A former ninth-overall pick in 2010, Granlund went from 2016-17 to 2018-19 scoring at least 50 points in each season. In 2016-17 and 2017-18, Granlund nearly his the 70-point mark scoring 69 and 67 points.
Additionally, these two seasons saw Granlund also scoring at least 20 goals as he scored 26 in 2016-17 and 21 in 2017-18. However, Granlund has failed to reach this mark over the last two seasons.
Granlund’s claim to fame is his playmaking ability. With 241 assists in 540 games, Granlund went six straight seasons with at least 30 assists and two with at least 40.
His ability to both score and create opportunities for his teammates to score could be very valuable to Boston. As he could help left wing Jake DeBrusk get back to his form of two years ago and fill in nicely for Pastrnak until he returns to help set up Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
However, Granlund’s last contract saw him with a cap hit of $5.75 million per season. But with a down year in 2019-20, Granlund could be due for a bit of a decrease in his pay. I would say between $4 and $5 million would be appropriate for Granlund.
If the B’s are looking to make this signing, Sweeney will have to get creative and create about $2 million in cap space.