Playing GM: What to do with Mikael Granlund

He looked... human.

When there is as much hype and excitement built up around a single player, the expectations rise. The kid arrives, and boom, reality. Turns out the NHL is a better league than SM Liiga or the AHL. Who knew?

There are calls by fans, and by those more in the know, that Finnish Baby Jesus may need some additional time to season in Houston. Somewhere, Heather is squealing with delight. The argument goes that Granlund would get the minutes he is getting here, but he would be able to get his legs under him and learn to walk before he runs.

The truth, as always, may lie somewhere in between.

Maybe. One or more of those things certainly might work.

The question really needs to be, are the expectations where they should be? It doesn't seen that Mike Yeo and Chuck Fletcher are buying into this idea that Granlund was supposed to come in and score 30 goals in the shortened season. He is a rookie, he is playing in a league that moves faster than anywhere he has ever played or every will, and he has a whole new system to learn.

So ask yourself - is it better for Granlund to go to Houston because it helps his career, or is it just because he did not meet the lofty goals of Wild fans right out of the gate?

Now play GM. What do you do, and why? If you send him to Houston, who do you call up?

Ready? Go.