The Penguins' sale, and the difficulty of trading Erik Karlsson

Too many forwards and searching for a top-six wing for the Toronto Maple Leafs

The Fourth Period: There is speculation still out there that the Toronto Maple Leafs wouldn’t mind adding a top-six winger. They currently have 15 forwards on one-way deals. Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving spoke to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels last week.

“We’re always looking. I don’t think you ever stop. Whether it happens or not, we’ll see. We’ve got a lot of bodies right now, so we’ll see. More than likely, unless something changes, we’ll go with what we’ve got and see where it all sorts itself out.”

David Pagnotta has noted that the Leafs are looking to trade forwards David Kampf and Calle Jarnkrok, with both holding 10-team no-trade lists. Jarnkrok is entering the final year of his deal, and Kampf has two years left. Pagnotta also reported last week that the Leafs and goaltender Anthony Stolarz have started extension talks.

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ sale, and the difficulty of trading Erik Karlsson

Josh Yohe of The Athletic: The sale of the Pittsburgh Penguins is expected to be finalized before 2026, according to some current employees. Something could always fall through, but a deal is expected. The Hoffman family is the leading group. The Lemieux group, including Mario Lemieux, Ron Burkle, and David Morehouse, likely can’t match the asking price of between $1.7 and $1.8 billion. There is nothing to suggest yet that Lemieux is involved with the Hoffman, but could see them giving him a call if they get the team.

Sources say that Penguins GM Kyle Dubas is okay with going into the season with their current roster. It is a bit of a surprise that none of Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust, and Rickard Rakell were moved.

Karlsson may be the hardest of the three to move, given his $10 million cap hit, two disappointing years, and his no-movement. had thought that he had the greatest odds to be traded this offseason. What the return for Karlsson would be, retaining some salary, would determine if it was worth doing. Does the current ownership want to retain salary? Would any new owner be willing to retain money on Karlsson? Believe that management thinks it would be best to move him.

Trading Karlsson may open the door for Harrison Brunicke. Their current right side includes Karlsson, Kris Letang, Matt Dumba and Connor Clifton.