The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired forward Mikael Granlund from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2023 second-round draft pick.

The Penguins receive: Granlund, a playmaking assist-heavy forward who can play either center or wing. He should initially be penciled in on the Penguins' third line but could move up to one of the top two lines in the event of injuries.

The Predators receive: Another draft pick as they continue to unload players. In the 2023 draft, the Preds will have two first-round picks, two second-round picks, three third-round picks, three fourth-round picks, two fifth-round picks, and a sixth-round pick. Not bad.

Fantasy players impacted:

In order to acquire Granlund and his $5 million cap hit, the Penguins waived Kasperi Kapanen and Brock McGinn while trading Teddy Blueger to Vegas. The Penguins' top two lines currently consist of Sidney Crosby – Rickard Rakell – Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin – Jason Zucker – Bryan Rust, so Granlund could slot in on a line with Jeff Carter and Danton Heinen, elevating those two. Granlund would likely fit on the Pens' second power-play, as the first unit has been set in stone for a while.

Overall, this is mostly a lateral move for Granlund unless he can find his way onto the Crosby or Malkin line. Then he could see a modest improvement to his scoring, similar to Rakell after he joined the Penguins last season.

Players this helps, in order:

Carter/Heinen

Granlund

Players this hurts, in order:

Matt Duchene

Filip Forsberg

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