Rumor: Karlsson "out there" for trade, most likely an off-season move

[Empoleon8771]

What I’m hearing about a potential Penguins Erik Karlsson trade

The Penguins are willing to talk about a Karlsson trade if there are any takers.

www.nytimes.com

A couple of comments:

One team source told me that, if Dubas could, he would trade Karlsson “in a heartbeat.”

An Eastern Conference executive told me, “Karlsson is out there, but Pittsburgh would have to retain (salary).”

League sources have told me that Karlsson’s outstanding play in the 4 Nations Face-Off drew attention. One NHL team executive told me that Karlsson simply might be a bad fit in Penguins coach Mike Sullivan’s system and that, if properly insulated by “a good defense team,” he could probably be effective and intriguing for potential buyers.

An NHL team executive also told me he believes Karlsson is more likely to be dealt this summer, when the salary cap has risen dramatically. At that point, the executive said, teams will be more likely to take on the majority of Karlsson’s bulky contract.

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[GIN ANTONIC]

Weird to do in division trade but Carolina would look at this for the right price as a Burns replacement. Pens def gonna need to retain on that $10m / year cap hit though.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

What are they adding to move him?

 

[FlameChampion]

Maybe time to take Dubas’s keys away

 

[Hattrick Kane]

What a disaster Dubas is.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Weird to do in division trade but Carolina would look at this for the right price as a Burns replacement. Pens def gonna need to retain on that $10m / year cap hit though.

It would definitely have to be an off-season move with Carolina, but Carolina was one team that stuck out as a fit.

Dallas, Carolina and Florida are the 3 obvious options to me, with Dallas being a deadline move while Carolina and Florida being more of an off-season move.

 

[notsocommonsense]

Weird to do in division trade but Carolina would look at this for the right price as a Burns replacement. Pens def gonna need to retain on that $10m / year cap hit though.

I kind of think Carolina is waiting for Nikishin to come over and fill the Burns role

 

[KJoe88]

honestly would love him on Detroit.

But he’s always been a favorite of mine.

Oh well.

 

[SomeDude]

They could always just, you know, fire the coach. Nah, that would make too much sense.

 

[Chrispy]

What are they adding to move him?

You get him down to $5M-$6M, and I doubt Pittsburgh would need to sweeten the deal.

Carolina got Brent Burns in 2022 at $5.28M after retention for Steven Lorentz, Eetu Makiniemi, and a 3rd. I think Karlsson could get more value given the $5M-$6M salary is less onerous than it was 3 years ago.

 

[Dennis Reynolds]

What a disaster Dubas is.

Much more so Sullivan, but yes.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Maybe time to take Dubas’s keys away

What a disaster Dubas is.

Dubas was hired with the mandate from ownership to try to compete longer and postpone the rebuild for as long as possible. He added Karlsson coming off a Norris for an (at the time) pretty low cost, it was a bunch of cap dumps and a 1st projected to be in the 20-25 range. It didn't pan out and San Jose clearly won the deal, but the deal wasn't a disaster for the Penguins.

The failures by Dubas were those heinous Jarry and Graves contracts and his free agency in general. The Karlsson deal didn't pan out but it was a completely worthwhile move to make at the time.

 

[Puikiou]

BREAKING NEWS: I'm also out there to lace them up for an NHL team

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

I kind of think Carolina is waiting for Nikishin to come over and fill the Burns role

Nikishin is coming over and that is gonna be amazing but he's a LHD so he's not gonna be paired with Slavin. He is probably more of an Orlov replacement in that respect. Burns might hang it up so there would be space for both.

Slavin - Karlsson (zomg!)
Nikishin - Chatfield
Ghostbear - Walker

And then you have Morrow who might get a look as well. I could see a scenario where the Canes move off of Walker eventually. Maybe not this off-season but next

 

[robbieberns]

I kind of think Carolina is waiting for Nikishin to come over and fill the Burns role

Nikishin is an LHD, who will be replacing Orlov. Burns leaving is going to open up a spot right next to Slavin. Plenty of room for both, and if a bunch of scientists in a lab got together to create the perfect partner for Karlsson they would come up with Jaccob Slavin.

 

[Xoggz22]

Damn.... came here hoping it was Wild Bill!

 

[A1LeafNation]

Maybe time to take Dubas’s keys away

It looks like he was signed to do the rebuild but had to give Sidney one last kick.

If that's the case and isn't roadblocked by a Karlsson or Jarry contract, isn't everything going according to plan.

Dubas was hired with the mandate from ownership to try to compete longer and postpone the rebuild for as long as possible. He added Karlsson coming off a Norris for an (at the time) pretty low cost, it was a bunch of cap dumps and a 1st projected to be in the 20-25 range. It didn't pan out and San Jose clearly won the deal, but the deal wasn't a disaster for the Penguins.

The failures by Dubas were those heinous Jarry and Graves contracts and his free agency in general. The Karlsson deal didn't pan out but it was a completely worthwhile move to make at the time.

Even the Jarry deal happened right when he got there, so it could have been a deal in place prior to the new GM coming on board where there were no alternatives lined up.

Maybe this is all Dubas fault, or maybe this was the plan all along. We actually don't know either way.

 

[TheNewEra]

Red wings have enough shorter term bad contracts to make it work. Would hate seeing him in Detroit though

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

Remember when PIT fans and stat boys were dancing in the streets over the Dubas hiring? Hasn't even been there two years. His two biggest moves were signing Jarry and trading for Karlsson.

One is buried and the other he'd supposedly trade "In a heartbeat". OOF.

 

[FlameChampion]

Dubas was hired with the mandate from ownership to try to compete longer and postpone the rebuild for as long as possible. He added Karlsson coming off a Norris for an (at the time) pretty low cost, it was a bunch of cap dumps and a 1st projected to be in the 20-25 range. It didn't pan out and San Jose clearly won the deal, but the deal wasn't a disaster for the Penguins.

The failures by Dubas were those heinous Jarry and Graves contracts and his free agency in general. The Karlsson deal didn't pan out but it was a completely worthwhile move to make at the time.

Fair points.

I don’t think some of his moves are terrible in a vacuum.

I’ve just never got the impression that he knows how to actually build a team.

 

[BobCole]

Karlsson is pacing for almost 60 points on a terrible Pens team with a system that is antithetical to his game. He would be a great addition to the right team, especially with salary retained by Pitt.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

Red wings have enough shorter term bad contracts to make it work. Would hate seeing him in Detroit though

Pass on paying $10M for the next 2 years for a guy to play 2nd pairing behind Seider.

Especially considering Edvinsson is up for a new contract in that time.

 

[TheNewEra]

Pass on paying $10M for the next 2 years for a guy to play 2nd pairing behind Seider.

Especially considering Edvinsson is up for a new contract in that time.

for sure

i saw it as paying karlsson 2 million for one season if penguins take on chariot and holl, then yes a bullet needs to be dealt with when it jumps up to 10,000,000 for his final year

or if its chariot and compher then its like 150k next year and 4.9 the following year

was just viewing it as a move for bad contracts and a 2nd. Nothing of immense value and penguins dont have to retain which should be something they value

 

[Noldo]

I think that Florida should seriously try to make it work.

They have defensive structure (and workhorses) to insulate Karlsson, but EK would be improvement over what they have (Ekblad) in power play and transition.

Don’t know if they can make cap work with Knight still in the books.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

for sure

i saw it as paying karlsson 2 million for one season if penguins take on chariot and holl, then yes a bullet needs to be dealt with when it jumps up to 10,000,000 for his final year

or if its chariot and compher then its like 150k next year and 4.9 the following year

was just viewing it as a move for bad contracts and a 2nd. Nothing of immense value and penguins dont have to retain which should be something they value

PIT taking on Chiarot and Holl would require assets from Detroit, as no matter how washed up Karlsson is, he's still more valuable than both.

In which case it's still a no.