Penguins
‘Up in the Air’: Karlsson Talks Possible Trade, Penguins Path
CRANBERRY — It is NHL trade rumor season. It’s a time of year when some of the biggest names in the league are rumored to be on the move, speculation abounds, and players are the unwitting subjects of conversations well beyond their control. Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson has been through this before.
And he understands he’s going through it again.
“So, it’s that time of year again,” he facetiously asked with an accepting laugh.
In the summer of 2023, Karlsson facilitated a trade (or demanded, pending your point of view) out of San Jose because the Sharks were embarking on a rebuild, and the then-33-year-old defenseman desperately wanted to win a Stanley Cup. There were high hopes that he could be a missing element to the aging Penguins core, revitalize the team, and reinvigorate their chase for the Cup.
That desire for his first Cup still burns hot, but the goal seems no closer as the Penguins teeter on the decision to take the long road back to being contenders–trading away players to restock future hopes. Karlsson is now 34 years old, and it’s a legitimate question whether he’s willing to endure a retool or restocking with a team that might not return to premier status within the window of his career.
“(Karlsson) has a lot of respect for the guys that have been here and have won Stanley Cups, and he obviously has aspirations to win the Cup. That’s why he came here,” said coach Mike Sullivan. “He’s hungry.”
Despite Karlsson’s benefits and potential benefits to the Penguins’ turnaround, their immediate needs are in question. So, with a fair warning to the player, Pittsburgh Hockey Now asked the land mine question.
Karlsson’s response was fair and honest.
“I think (a Stanley Cup) is what we all want to want to accomplish. I have zero. Some guys here have three, and I know they want to win just as badly as I do, you know,” said Karlsson. “So I think that’s a question that’s up in the air. There are some controllables, and there are some that aren’t. And I don’t really know where that (situation) is at right now.
“Right now, I’m just focused on trying to get in the playoffs for this year because I know if we have that opportunity, I think that this team is well equipped to do more than we probably could in an 82-game season.”
In other words, Karlsson believes the Penguins would be a better team in the playoffs than the regular season.
Over the past couple of months, Karlsson has returned to an elite level after an uneven first season with the Penguins and a disastrous start this season.
Karlsson has 30 points despite not running the Penguins’ top power-play unit. He’s a minus-7 on a team that has one of the worst goal differentials in the league and the worst in the Eastern Conference (minus-28). As evidence of the turnaround in Karlsson’s game, he has been a plus-7 since American Thanksgiving and has been a driver on a team in desperate need of more.
“I think (Karlsson) has played his best hockey as a Penguin in the last six-plus weeks. Some of the plays he makes offensively are elite. The (assist to Michael Bunting) in the Carolina game is an example. He made a similar play to (Bryan Rust) Tuesday night,” Sullivan said. “When he’s committed to winning puck battles, he wins them, however many different ways … he’s defending hard for us. Some of the plays he’s making offensively have really helped us.”
As trade rumors surround the Penguins, whose management and scouts are scouring the league looking for young players, prospects, and opportunities, Karlsson’s future is rightfully cloudy. He admitted that he controls part of the situation with a no-movement clause. In the same breath, he convincingly said his focus is on getting the Penguins to the playoffs.
The Penguins would surely have a puncher’s chance in the mediocre Eastern Conference, but getting there will be difficult as they continue to hemorrhage wins with blown leads. In the larger context, general manager Kyle Dubas has stated on multiple occasions that simply squeaking into the playoffs isn’t good enough.
Dubas and his staff have been scouting teams across the league with a ferocity not seen in some time. It seems Dubas is scouting different teams in different cities on a nightly basis.
No one except the big three should feel safe. The GM has signaled his willingness to punt this season if the organizational depth chart can be strengthened for the long term. However, Karlsson’s trade value might be a unique question as he carries a $10 million cap hit (San Jose held back about $1.5 million annually of his $11.5 million cap hit).
So, the door is open–to a few possibilities.
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It seems He is not hungry enough
If an opportunity arises that benefits both sides, they should act on it without hesitation.
I was totally against acquiring Karlsson in the first place, but understand the trade got rid of other bad contracts. If there is a team that will sign a defenseman who doesn’t play defense and earns way too much money, then by all means make the deal!
He has been excellent on the PK over the past few weeks. Most would consider the PK the most defensive role in hockey!
This organization and most of this fanbase only cares when otherwise worthless forwards are “PK specialists.” It’s the new age version of a “locker room guy”- Nieto, Harkins, etc. Sullivan has to have one every year, presumably because it’s emblematic of his playing career
I’d rather see him stay at this point than Letang. They need to offload one before the start of next year…
Letang’s numbers are horrible. But Pens fans ignore it because he’s core and Canadian.
Why would Pittsburgh fans ignore his stats because he’s Canadian?
Curtis, I definitely think there’s some truth to that. Letang was once regarded as a perennial Norris Trophy candidate. While he’s been solid for a while, he was never truly a serious contender for the award—more of a narrative driven by local media.
Well a list of best or worse Pens players would certainly have more than a few Canadians. If the player’s good, most don’t care about nationality…Or at least I don’t.
Karlsson needs to go in a trade. No one will want Letang; he needs to retire. Clear the team of both and maybe see if you can get anything for a Letang/Sullivan combo. Triple play to help the current team and the rebuild.
If a team thinks like they are close to a long Cup run and thought either Letang or Karlsson would get them there they wouldn’t hesitate if they could work out a deal. Both would have to waive NMC and it ain’t happening with Letang.
“When he’s committed to winning puck battles, he wins them…”
The operative word here is WHEN. When he’s not committed, he’s a sieve who oles better than a world-class matador.
We can only hope.
In all fairness, Karlsson has went from a shitty defenseman earlier in the year to a decent one today. Good for him and good for the team.
You think he stepped up his game thinking it would make him more appealing for a trade to a more serious contender?
No
He’s been playing very well lately, especially offensively…give credit where credit is due
I’d like to see if his feeling about this team in playoffs vs regular season is correct. Honestly, if they could catch lightning with a hot goalie (maybe young one that teams have not yet figured out?), and maybe get a decent young right winger for Malkin (from ahl or trade deadline), I still believe this team could make a little run. But those are two big ifs
They aren’t trading Geno. How many times do we have to go thru that on here?
He was indicating a young winger for Malkin’s wing, not to trade him I think….
Thank you for correcting me. Much appreciated!
Pens have a hot goalie: Blomqvist. This season is SV% has been .905, though goals/gm is 3.60
For the money he makes his commit should be 100% every game and it’s not, everyone on this team excluding Sidney and maybe Rust should be available.
I see nothing wrong with his comments. Pretty honest.
nothing wrong with them at all. I, too, felt they were appropriate and straight up.
No GM will take either Karlsson or Letang. It’s a salary cap league, and we’re stuck.
Setting aside the clauses in their contracts, a club would take either if they thought it would get them a Cup and a trade could be worked out.
Get rid of Dubas and let’s construct a team..let’s go. The bar was pretty low with He tall .somehow it even lower
The Pens should move Karlsson. The past few weeks show that he could be a major contributor to a contending team. They have plenty of cap space over the next several years, so they could create a package that would return a first and a prospect. Hypothetical trade: Karlsson, retain $4M, and a 2026 3rd round pick for 2026 1st, Yakemchuk, and Jensen. The net cost to Otw would be $2M a year for Karlsson for the next 2 years, a prospect, and trading down in the 2026 draft less than 2 rounds.
IMO, Karlsson has played his best hockey since coming to Pittsburgh over the past 5-6 weeks. But he certainly doesn’t look like a $10 million/yr player. Unless the team can improve their goaltending over the next month or two, this team probably won’t make the playoffs. That makes trading Karlsson a real possibility for Dubas. However, if one of our minor league goalies catches fire and gets promoted (aka Sergei Murashov) we might have a chance to go deep in the post season with Karlsson.
That is a pipe dream. Murashov hasn’t really played in the AHL, which is much better than the ECHL. To move from the ECHL to the NHL and turn us into a contender is so unrealistic.