The Pittsburgh Penguins have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third consecutive season. They have not supplemented their aging veterans with young talent to keep their window open. Now, Kyle Dubas faces a tough offseason with Sidney Crosby’s final years hanging in the balance. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said that the Penguins could trade Erik Karlsson this summer.
“Karlsson has a bonus, and once he gets paid that bonus, I believe it’s on July 1, his actual cash, I think, is $11 million for the next two years,” Friedman said. “He’s tradable and there’s going to be interest. I think people are going to try to leverage Pittsburgh on that, get it to either eat money or throw a sweetener in there, but he’s not untradeable.”
Karlsson has two years left on a contract that pays him $10 million per season. $1.5 million of his original $11.5 million salary is retained on the Sharks’ cap sheet. As Friedman reports, another team could ask the Penguins to retain salary if there is another trade. While that would end the ability to retain salary on his contract, it would help facilitate the deal.
The Penguins already have one extra first-round pick this year and need as many picks and prospects as they can to quickly rebuild. Trading Karlsson is a way to start that process.
The Penguins need a lot of help this offseason
Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have made it clear that they want to finish their careers as Penguins. Kris Letang also re-signed in Pittsburgh, so that will likely be the same story. Those trades would bring them big returns, but would make the team borderline unwatchable in the immediate future.
The Penguins could get better by trading Karlsson. While it should have been a great fit, it never was, and he has not produced offensively with Pittsburgh. With picks and prospects coming back, Dubas could quickly build around Crosby and give him one more run.
Utah Hockey Club should be picking up the phone for Erik Karlsson. They could use a recognizable superstar to unveil their new mascot, and Karlsson is exactly that. If a team falls short in the playoffs, like the Maple Leafs or Jets, they could make a swing for him. And a return to the Senators would be very popular among that fanbase.
If the Penguins retain the maximum $5 million on Karlsson’s deal, they could get a solid deal this offseason.
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