At the very least, it would get Karlsson to waive his NMC.
The year is 2050 and we look at at how the Penguins won back to back cups in 2026 and 2027.
The 24-25 Pens roster was looking bleak. Plagued by older players with solid contracts and an underwhelming prospect pool, it was tough to see how they could compete in Crosby's twilight. Kyle Dubas was receiving criticism since his days in Toronto but little did anyone know he was about to hatch an ingenious plan. Erik Karlsson was an all-star dman but wasn't providing what the team needed at the moment. Locked into a $10mil deal for the next 4 years, Dubas felt this was a prime candidate to move to bolster other positions. Problem was...an NMC and NTC. In a brilliant move, Dubas leverage the previous wives' drama from Karlsson's days in Ottawa. He signed over-the-hill winger Mike Hoffman. The presence of Hoffman on the roster and his wife in the city of Pittsburgh sat uneasy with Karlsson and his wife. Wanting to help Erik, Dubas offered him a solution - trade to another team. Not wanting the drama to ruin anymore of his life than it already had, he agreed. Dubas sought out Steve Yzerman who was under scruity for the rather bizarre ways he was "building" his team. Knowing they needed a solid presence on the backend, Dubas approached Yzerman, explained the situation, and merely asked for a 1st round pick back and a cap dump to help facilitate the trade. Dubas knew it was under market value though. After a couple days of consideration, Yzerman accepted. He was hopeful about Karlsson's impact on the ice and was sure it would help propel the Wing forward. It did not. Red Wings finished bottom 5 in the league that year while the Penguins finished 10th. This gave the Penguins two top 10 draft picks which excited them. In a surprise that shocked the hockey world and disgusted 31 fan bases, the Wings "won" the draft lottery moving them from 5ov to 1ov. This elated Dubas as it meant Jack Hagen was available for selection. Hagen had recently been dominating the USHL and was the consensus 1st OV who was being projected as a franchise 1C. The Penguins promptly selected him 1ov and Michael Misa with the 10th OV. To no one's shock, both made the Penguins roster out of camp. Situated nicely behind Sidney Crosby with Misa and Pens legend Evgeni Malkin on his wing, Hagen excels, potting 75 points in his first season and helping Misa pot 65 points, which included 39 goals. Everyone knew this was the resurgence the Penguins needed. Two seasons later, thanks to some schrude trades and signings by Dubas, the Penguins made it their 7th Cup finals. Squaring off with the Dallas Stars, the Penguins quickly dispatched them in 5 games winning their first cup at home. While this was a great send off for the great Evgeni Malkin, they weren't done. They built on their success the following year and made it to the Cup finals again in what was dubbed Sid's Last Ride. With the flare for the dramatic, the Penguins won their 7th cup in a thrilling game 7 OT thanks to a Sidney Crosby breakaway goal set up by non other than Jack Hagen. While Sid was the first to raise the cup in celebration, he quickly handed to Hagen telling him "it's all you now". This was captured in the iconic photo dubbed "passing the torch".
I wonder if that's the delay--he knows this team is headed for a steep nosedive and probably wants no part in that, but at the same time, hockey's all the dude's ever known and hanging up the skates is probably gonna be akin to losing a loved one.
