Mikael Granlund became the latest player to exit the Nashville Predators, with the Pittsburgh Penguins announcing Wednesday they acquired the veteran forward for a 2023 second-round pick.
Granlund, who has nine goals and 36 points in 58 games, gives the Penguins another top-nine forward in their chase to secure a playoff spot. They entered the day holding onto the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot, with a three-point lead over the Buffalo Sabres, while being eight points behind the New York Rangers for third in the Metropolitan Division.
Granlund, who led all Predators forwards in power-play minutes and was second in 5-on-5 minutes, is in the second year of a four-year extension carrying a $5 million cap hit.
Trading away Granlund is the latest move for a Predators team in transition. It started Saturday when Nashville traded Nino Niederreiter to the Winnipeg Jets. A day later, longtime general manager David Poile announced he was stepping down at the end of the season and that Barry Trotz would take over next season. Hours later, Poile traded forward Tanner Jeannot to the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman Cal Foote and five draft picks.
Poile was active again Tuesday when he moved veteran defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who had three years left on his current deal worth $6 million annually, to the Edmonton Oilers. The Predators also moved a 2023 sixth-round pick in that trade with the Oilers that saw them acquire defenseman Tyson Barrie, prospect forward Reid Schaefer, a 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick in exchange.
It amounts to the Predators, who are eight points out of the final Western Conference wild-card spot, having 13 picks in the 2023 NHL draft. They have two first-rounders, two second-rounders, three third-rounders, three fourth-rounders and two fifth-rounders. That's followed by nine picks for the 2024 draft and another eight picks for the 2025 draft.