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2nd center: if the Habs believe in Michael Hage, Mikael Granlund is an interesting option
Félix Forget
2nd center: if the Habs believe in Michael Hage, Mikael Granlund is an interesting option
Credit: Getty Images
When you look at the Dallas Stars’ roster, you see that the club doesn’t really have any weaknesses. An already (very) solid line-up was able to capitalize on the addition of Mikko Rantanen… and suddenly, it looks like a monstrous hockey machine.

That said, in addition to Rantanen, the Stars have also added Mikael Granlund to their roster in recent months. He got off to a great start in San Jose, and is still going strong in Dallas.

He has nine points in 14 playoff games so far, including a hat trick.

Granlund will be a free agent at the end of the season, however, and it’s safe to assume that the 33-year-old forward will want to break the bank one last time before he retires. And with the Habs looking for a second center, Tony Marinaro wondered whether Granlund might be an interesting option.

Without being the club’s top priority, Kent Hughes could do worse as a transition option.

And in reality, it probably all comes down to Michael Hage: if the Canadiens are confident that their first-round pick in the last draft has a good chance of becoming their future second center, a transition option like Granlund suddenly makes more sense to consider.

After all, a left-handed player who can score 60 or so points a season and has already produced in the playoffs is far from unattractive… even if he’s not the big man the Habs need.

If the club has doubts about Hage, though, it might as well try to find a longer-term solution… which might involve a trade.

There’s also a world in which the Habs want Granlund, but a desperate team would give him a 5-6 year contract to secure his services. And that’s the kind of nasty contract Kent Hughes has been trying to avoid at all costs since joining the Habs.

In Granlund’s case, then, it all depends on the Canadiens’ opinion of Michael Hage. The Finn isn’t the best option… but if he can hold down the fort until Hage is ready for the role (assuming he ever will be), the idea is defensible.

Otherwise, the Habs might as well try to look for an option that will help their club in the longer term.


Overtime

– Great read on the Blackhawks’ new head coach.

– Interesting.

– This club is a disaster.

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