Mikael Granlund wasn't going to replace Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel, Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, or Jason Zucker in the top six. Not when they're all in the midst of 20+ goal seasons and not when they all played 78+ games.
Granlund had success in San Jose because someone needed to score.
He's had some offensive success so far in Dallas because he's riding the coattails of Matt Duchene and Mason Marchmant.
Granlund never should have been acquired. Pinning his usage on Sullivan when the real issue was Ron Hextall burning $5 million in cap and a 2nd round pick for a guy who didn't fit on the roster is just ridiculous.
So, yeah, context to a player's production and time on ice is important. If Ron Hextall understood that, maybe he'd still be employed.