Longtime Teammate Zucker on Granlund: He's Skilled and Versatile

TAMPA, Fla. - As Mikael Granlund walked into the locker room following Pittsburgh's morning skate on Thursday at Amalie Arena, he looked over at Jason Zucker, sitting at the neighboring stall.

"Did you say something nice about me?!" said the newest Penguins forward,
acquired from Nashville
in exchange for a 2023 second-round draft pick on Wednesday.
Zucker had in fact said lots of nice things about Granlund, who had been his teammate in Minnesota from 2012-19 after they had gotten drafted by the Wild in 2010.
"We kind of came up together there, all the way from the AHL in Houston and so on. But it was fun to talk to him yesterday," said Zucker, who texted Granlund right away after hearing about the trade. "He seems pretty excited to be here. It's great to have him.
"He's an unbelievably skilled player, but he can play all positions. He can play penalty kill, power play. He's a guy you'd love to have out there at the end of the game protecting a lead. He's a guy that can play in a lot of different scenarios, and I think it'll be great for us."
They had been linemates for six years with the Wild, with Zucker playing left wing and Granlund playing right wing at the time, with different centers - including Mikko Koivu and Eric Staal - rotating in.
"I always loved playing with him. He's a great passer," Zucker said. "I always joke that I have him to thank for my contract, because I didn't really do much. I just stood there, and he passed me the puck."
For the time being, it looks like Granlund will make his Penguins debut on right wing of the third line, with Danton Heinen at left wing and Jeff Carter at center. He also did some penalty kill work alongside Josh Archibald, as the Penguins will need to fill the void left by Teddy Blueger, who was traded to Vegas yesterday in exchange for a 2024 third-round draft pick and a prospect.
"I'm a pretty smart player," Granlund said. "Can play in a lot of different situations and in different positions. Whatever the role is, I try to play my best for the team."

But head coach Mike Sullivan said it'll most likely be a work in progress figuring out how exactly to utilize a versatile player like Granlund.
"Granlund's a guy that is a very good penalty killer that has had time there, whether it's in Nashville or other teams… so our intent is to get him involved in the penalty kill right away, and we will get him involved in one of the power plays as well," Sullivan said.
"We're just trying to do it in a way where we don't overload him, so that'll be a little bit of a feeling out process. But we're excited to have him. We're looking forward to trying to find combinations here that that make us better and give us a chance to win."
After the Penguins played the Predators in Nashville on Tuesday - with Pittsburgh earning a 3-1 win - both teams headed to Florida. The Penguins went to Tampa, and the Predators went to Sunrise, where they're set to play the Panthers tonight.
Once the trade was announced yesterday evening - "they were wanting to make some changes in Nashville and all of that, but you don't see it coming," Granlund said - it was a quick few hours. The Penguins got Granlund a car service that took him upstate, with the Finnish forward arriving at the team hotel around 1 AM.
"I'm really excited. All the history and everything about the Pittsburgh Penguins, it's pretty cool," he said. "So I'm really excited, and to be honest, I just told my kids, like I'm going to be a Penguin. They were really happy, like, ooh, a Penguin? So yeah, I'm really happy."