Sheng Peng
Mikael Granlund likes it in San Jose. Ryan Warsofsky wants him to stay.
But how much will it cost the San Jose Sharks to keep the pending UFA? And can they afford to pass up a serious trade offer for the 32-year-old center?
“I’ve liked my time here,” Granlund said.
There’s an argument that the Sharks can’t afford to lose Granlund.
“He’s really stepped up and helped this group and led this group with Logan being out,” Warsofsky said.
Captain Logan Couture has missed most of the last two seasons, since Granlund was acquired in the summer of 2023 in the Erik Karlsson trade.
In Couture’s place, Granlund has become both the Sharks’ go-to player and a leader, on and off the ice, like Couture was meant to be.
That’s what he’s done for young wingers William Eklund and Fabian Zetterlund, both who enjoyed breakout campaigns last season, much of it on a line with the veteran center.
“Grandpa Granny there can help them out a little bit,” Warsofsky said tongue in cheek recently. “Helping these two young players who are still trying to figure out how to play consistently in this league.”
“I haven’t heard that before,” Granlund smiled, when told Warsofsky’s joke. “I mean, I have obviously a little bit of experience in this league, and obviously playing with those two guys quite a bit, it’s been a blast and it’s fun. We have some chemistry there and I really feel like those two guys are listening to me when I say something.”
He’s made a similar connection to 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini.
“You’ve seen Granny take Eklund and Zetterlund under his wing here these last couple years,” Warsofsky said. “He’s done that a lot with Mack, even though they haven’t played together as much.”
“You kind of ask advice. What do you think? What he thought? What could be done differently? Those kinds of things, slow learning, learning opportunities throughout like plays and games,” Celebrini said about Granlund. “He’s great like that, where he doesn’t always think he’s right or his way’s the only way. He’ll talk to you, see what you saw, he’s pretty understanding when it comes to different plays.”
Granlund’s been just as impactful away from the game. It starts with the extra work that he does with the Sharks youngsters.
“It starts from the practice, how much they’re ready to put the work in,” Granlund said. “I really believe that, do the extra work.”
“Try to get out there at least 15 minutes before practice, doing some shooting or something I want to work on,” Will Smith said. “He’s usually always out there doing something.”
“He’s really good with these younger players and individual conversations and what they go through, and the pressures on and off the ice and the schedule and the grind that we go through,” Warsofsky said.
“He’s been a role model on and off the ice for us,” Celebrini said.
For Granlund too, being a mentor has been a genuinely rewarding experience, exhibit Eklund and Zetterlund.
“What I love the most about them is they’re ready to work every single day. They want to be better, they want to be helped, they are ready to put the work in,” Granlund said. “It’s been great to see those guys for this year and a half, how much they have grown as [people], but as players, like how much better they are now than they were year and a half ago. So it kind of personally gives me a good feeling, like we’re doing something right here.”
Granlund hopes to have a similar effect on Celebrini and Smith and company.
“Once you see that, you put the work in, you can tell the confidence they have,” Granlund said. “Look at Smitty, what he looks like on the ice right now than he was few months ago. He’s more confident, he can make plays, but it all comes down to making those little things right, being able to win battles, escape, and then, all of a sudden, the skill will take over.”
That’s part of the reason why Granlund wants to stay: “I see a bright future in this team.”
But do the San Jose Sharks see the pending UFA in their future?
Warsofsky hopes so: “I think any coach in the National Hockey would say a guy that is a leader, plays the right way, in great shape, is competitive, you’d want him on your team.”
Granlund, the Sharks media-voted MVP last season, is leading the conversation once again, pacing the team with 35 points in 41 games.
Of course, it’s not just about points for San Jose’s leader up front in overall, power play, and short-handed time on ice. In every situation, he’s the Sharks’ go-to guy.
“His game, it doesn’t really change game to game,” Warsofsky said. “When he has his B-game, and when he’s not feeling it that night, he’s being extremely physical. He’s trying to close, he’s trying to block shots. When he does feel it, he’s trying to make plays. He has a really good sense of what’s going on in hockey games, and he’s got a good sense [with] his own self-analysis.”
All this makes Granlund an attractive trade target, especially in a weak market for centers. Probably Granlund and the New York Islanders’ Brock Nelson are the class of this all-important position this Trade Deadline. Two-way center Nelson offers more goalscoring and his 6-foot-4 frame will be seen as more ideal for the playoff grind than Granlund’s size.
Regardless, San Jose Hockey Now has heard early whispers from sources of a strong trade market brewing for Granlund and the reasonable $5 million AAV left on his contract.
All said though, we’re still basically two months away from the Mar. 7 Trade Deadline.
“Teams need more time and some teams don’t have the assets,” a league source said. “Mike [Grier] has a job to do and will have to weigh values.”
Speaking of that, what’s fair market value for the UFA centerman? Granlund is 5-foot-10 and 32, but he also plays a critical position at a very high level, is the exact guy who you want around your kids in a rebuild, and is happy in San Jose.
Last summer, the Sharks inked 32-year-old winger Tyler Toffoli to a four-year, $24 million contract ($6 million AAV). That might be a start for Granlund, considering his higher positional value.
Other possible two-way center comps?
Last summer, 30-year-old Chandler Stephenson inked a seven-year, $43.75 million deal ($6.25 million AAV) with the Seattle Kraken and 29-year-old Elias Lindholm signed a seven-year, $54.25 pact ($7.75 million AAV) with the Boston Bruins.
Is four years and $28 million fair for the older Granlund? And if so, would the Sharks pay that price?
“We’d love to keep him and we’ll see how it plays out,” Warsofsky said.
“I’d miss him a lot,” Celebrini said about his alternate captain’s potential departure. “He’s been a great teammate, great, great leader for us.”
Granlund, battling personal issues while with the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins in 2022-23, has re-discovered himself in San Jose.
“Last few years, I knew I had way more than I was giving,” he said. “I did some changes, the way I prepared for the season and all that before I came here, and it’s really paying off.”
You can’t argue with the results: Granlund’s 0.86 Points Per Game over the last two seasons matches the best numbers of his career. Obviously, he’s playing more than ever, which juices his stats, but he’s also not exactly playing with Roman Josi either these days.
“I’m playing way better. I can skate way better and do all the things I’ve always known I can do on the ice,” Granlund said. “That’s the biggest thing that makes me happy. My game is there, and I have a feeling like it’s only gonna get better.”