THN.com/podcast. From The Hockey News Podcast: Who Will Win the NHL's Wild-Card Race? Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk2MjM1NTA2MzQ1Mzg3MzEy/usatsi_20073615.jpg] Well, this one's a head-scratcher. The Pittsburgh Penguins continued their roster shuffling on Wednesday evening, acquiring forward Mikael Granlund from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2023 second-round pick. Granlund is under contract through the 2024-25 season at a cap hit of $5 million. The arrival of Granlund is somewhat of an anti-climactic end to a busy day of roster moves for the Penguins, as the club dealt Teddy Blueger to the Vegas Golden Knights and then assigned both Mark Friedman and Brock McGinn to the AHL in order to bank as much cap space as possible. In Granlund, the Penguins get a playmaking center with term that they hope will find success surrounded by the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. In 58 games this season, Granlund has racked up nine goals and 27 assists for 36 points while logging nearly 19 minutes in average ice time. The hitch with Granlund is his contract and underlying metrics, as his cap hit of $5 million for the next two seasons does not seem to be worthy of the disappointing possession numbers he produces. Still, the Penguins have been known to put veteran forwards in a position to succeed, and Granlund gives them an extra playmaker down the middle as they continue their fight to remain in playoff contention. The price tag might be steep, but Granlund will at least put up numbers in what is a far better forward corps than Nashville's. Stay tuned. More trades are coming.
