Mikael Granlund Earns Title of San Jose Shark’s MVP After First Month of the Season

We're almost a month into the season, and the San Jose Sharks aren't meeting expectations. October has come to pass, and the 3-8-2 Sharks are rock bottom of the NHL standings, but there have been positives to take away from the rocky start to the season. This has been without Celebrini, so we'll hopefully see improvement when he is reintroduced later today. The Sharks have a player scoring at a rate of naughts in their forward core.

Mikael Granlund has started the season like he's playing for a chance at the Stanley Cup. Through the first thirteen games, Granlund has six goals and eight assists for fourteen points, leading the team. His goal-scoring in clutch moments has allowed the Sharks to start picking up wins, and the Sharks' success seems to follow the path Granlund sets. He was quiet to start the season; the Sharks lost their first nine in a row. He exploded from then on, and San Jose won 3 of 4.

Granlund has been the Sharks' most valuable player this season. His strong powerplay presence has given the offense a threat, and he's starting to produce at the rate he did last season. In his 69 games last season, Granlund had 12 goals and 48 assists for 60 points, again leading the Sharks. He's shown himself to be a leader by example.

The Finnish centerman will see his contract expire this summer, so he's playing for a trade to a Stanley Cup contender. When the trade deadline comes, the man acquired as a cap dump from the Pittsburgh Penguins will be looking for a new team to try and win the Stanley Cup with. It's unlikely that the Sharks will re-sign the Finn due to his age and the number of solid centers coming through the organization right now.