Granlund, 29 (2/26/92), tied for the Predators lead in goals with 13 and was fourth in points with 27 during the 2020-21 campaign, his third season with the team. From March 15 through the end of the regular season, a stretch in which Nashville went 20-7-1, Granlund posted 17 points (8g-9a), the second-most on the team, and recorded three multi-point efforts, including a two-assist game vs. Carolina on May 8 to help clinch the Predators' seventh straight postseason appearance. He spent more time on the ice than any other Predators forward in 2020-21, averaging a career-high 19:29, which also stood as the joint 31st-best mark among all NHL forwards; on special teams, he averaged the fourth-most power-play ice time (2:34) and fifth-most shorthanded ice time (2:12) on Nashville. Granlund skated in all six of Nashville's Stanley Cup Playoff games and tied for the team lead in points with five (2g-3a) while again leading all Predators forwards in average time on ice (23:39).
Since John Hynes was named Nashville's head coach on Jan. 7, 2020, Granlund leads the team in goals (24) and average time on ice (19:20) and is second to only Filip Forsberg in points (43). Originally drafted in the first round (ninth overall) by Minnesota in the 2010 NHL Draft, Granlund acquired by the Predators from the Wild in February 2019 and has gone on to skate in 130 games with Nashville, tallying 62 points (31g-31a). He's amassed an additional eight points (3g-5a) in 16 postseason games for the Predators.
The Oulu, Finland, native made his NHL debut during the 2012-13 season and has since recorded 379 career points (124g-255a) with Nashville and Minnesota, the second-most among his countrymen in that time span and the ninth-most among skaters from his draft class. Additionally, he has hit the 40-point mark in five of his nine NHL seasons - headlined by a career-high 69 points (26g-43a) in 2016-17 - and was nominated for the 2017 Lady Byng Award, given to the player who exhibits the best sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct.
Granlund has represented Finland at the international level on several occasions, including the 2014 Winter Olympics, where he had seven points (3g-4a) en route to a bronze medal and a spot on the tournament's all-star team. Granlund competed at the World Junior Championship three times and served as captain for his country in the 2012 tournament, where led all skaters in assists with nine. He has also suited up for Finland at the 2011 World Championship, winning gold, and at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Prior to joining the Wild, Granlund was a product of the Karpat and HIFK programs in Finland and skated in 129 Liiga contests, tallying 127 points (41g-86a).
