Mikael Granlund swinging behind the Russia goal, heading for its right side. In the process, the center, then only 19 years old on May 13, 2011, put the puck on his blade and flung it behind Russia’s goalie, Konstantin Barulin. He scored.

SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier has not had any serious contract negotiations with his large group of pending unrestricted free agents and said it’s unlikely he’ll sign any of those players to extensions before the NHL trade deadline on March 7.

Take the San Jose Sharks moneyline for tonight's best bet against the Seattle Kraken who have been struggling at home.

Aleksander Barkov takes pride in wearing the 'C' as captain of the Florida Panthers. So, he appreciates the meaning of being able to also do it while representing his country. Barkov was named captain for Team Finland for the 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday.

San Jose Sharks list of pending UFAs includes Mikael Granlund, Luke Kunin, Nico Sturm, Cody Ceci, Jan Rutta, Vitek Vanecek and Alexandar Georgiev.

Former Wild forward Mikael Granlund will represent Team Finland along with Erik Haula, another former Wild forward. Granlund was named an assistant captain for the upcoming tournament.

Never a huge goal-scorer, Granlund is on pace to hit 20 for the third time in his 13-year career and the first since 2017-18 with Minnesota. But the 32-year-old has been a point producer with the Sharks. He’s leading the team with 44 points in 51 contests after a scoring a team-high 60 points in 69 games last season.

Team Finland will be captained by a Stanley Cup champion at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Aleksander Barkov of the defending champion Florida Panthers will wear the ‘C’ for Finland. Carolina Hurricanes stars Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen, and San Jose Sharks veteran Mikael Granlund, will serve as assistant captains.

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Finnish Ice Hockey Association, in conjunction with the NHL and the NHL Players' Association, announced its leadership group for February's 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday. Carolina Hurricanes forwards Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen were named alternate captains.

Macklin Celebrini scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third and Yaroslav Askarov stopped a penalty shot as the Sharks beat the Penguins 2-1 on Monday.

The Panthers have eight players total slated to participate in the tournament: Four for Finland (Barkov, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola), two for Canada (Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett), one for the United States (Matthew Tkachuk) and one for Sweden (Gustav Forsling).

Team Finland announced their leadership group for the 4 Nations Face-Off today and both Carolina Hurricanes forwards Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen were named alternate captains. Finland will be captained by Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers and Mikael Granlund of the San Jose Sharks will also serve as an alternate captain.