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Penguins and Erik Karlsson Reportedly Open to Trade Under Clear Conditions

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Jun 26, 2025 6:56 AM ET

After three consecutive years failing to make the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins face a critical offseason as they'll try to break the skid next season.

One of the options Pittsburgh has to retool its roster goes through finding a destination for veteran defenseman Erik Karlsson, who could help the Penguins refresh their aging core.

According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the 35-year-old defenseman is open to waiving his full no-move clause, but only to join a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

“My understanding is that Karlsson would be open to waiving to join a contender,” LeBrun wrote. “That might sound obvious given where the Penguins are — staring down a long rebuild — but he has the hammer via his full no-move, so it’s no small consideration.”

Karlsson is entering the seventh season of his eight-year, $92 million contract. He carries a $10 million cap hit, and his deal includes a $5 million signing bonus due July 1, which could complicate trade talks.

How an Erik Karlsson trade might work, plus latest on Tavares, Marchand, Ekblad, Bouchard. My latest Rumblings for ⁦@TheAthletic⁩ ⤵️ https://t.co/MRZalpuPa1
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 25, 2025

LeBrun explained that many teams would prefer to deal for Karlsson after Pittsburgh pays the bonus on the aforementioned date, but that would come at a cost for the acquiring team in terms of surrendering draft-pick compensation or forfeiting salary retention.

“The Penguins will be less inclined to trade him after making that payment unless teams pay an extra asset to acknowledge it,” LeBrun said.

Reducing Karlsson’s cap hit could spark more interest, but for that to happen, the deal might have to be completed before the start of free agency.

“The sweet spot for making Karlsson as attractive as possible would be to turn him into a $7.5 million player,” LeBrun wrote.

Pittsburgh, however, isn’t expected to retain salary unless fully compensated with assets in return and with the acquiring team paying the full $5 million bonus.

Karlsson has posted 56 and 53 points in his two seasons with Pittsburgh, appearing in all 164 regular-season games during that span, and most recently, he impressed for Sweden at the 4 Nations tournament last February.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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