The Pittsburgh Penguins’ organizational history has a plethora of great players, and we’ve decided to go through the best Penguins’ players to wear each jersey number. Today, we continue the list by naming the best #64 in Penguins’ history.
There has only been one player to wear #64 for the Penguins, and he wa part of a very controversial trade and wasn’t in Pittsburgh long at all.
Yes, it was Mikael Granlund.
Granlund was brought to the Penguins during the 2023 NHL trade deadline, when he was acquired from the Nashville Predators for a second-round pick. The trade, facilitated by then-Penguins GM Ron Hextall, drew the ire from many Pittsburgh fans who expected a bigger name given the cap space that Hextall freed up leading up to the trade.
But, it’s not like Granlund was a bad player. He had registered 36 points in 58 games for Nashville that season, and he had always been known as a playmaker, first and foremost.
However, a lot of his offensive skillset didn’t show in his brief time in Pittsburgh, as he registered just one goal and five points in 21 games. Which drew the ire of Penguins’ fans even more when their team didn’t make the playoffs and Granlund’s cap hit came in at $5 million average-annual value.
Just as quickly as he was acquired, he was traded to San Jose on August 6, 2023, as part of the blockbuster trade that brought star defenseman Erik Karlsson to Pittsburgh.
WE HAVE BIG TRADE NEWS TO ANNOUNCE 🚨
The Penguins have acquired defenseman Erik Karlsson, forward Rem Pitlick, forward Dillon Hamaliuk and a 2026 third-round draft pick in a three-team trade involving the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) August 6, 2023
Since the trade, Granlund has recorded 19 goals and 78 points in 86 games for the Sharks. Over the course of his NHL career, he has registered 164 goals and 562 points in 836 NHL games.
