Erik Karlsson is the first defenceman to be traded fresh off winning the Norris Trophy, as the NHL’s top defenceman since Doug Harvey in 1961. Karlsson became the first player in the position to record 100 points in a season since Brian Leetch in 1991-92.
The Pittsburgh Penguins want to walk the fine line between protecting the future and making the most out of the present. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kyle Dubas are all in on trying to capture the powers that be in the Eastern Conference.
Pittsburgh sent a 2024 first-round pick, forward Mikael Granlund and defenceman Jan Rutta to San Jose Sharks and goaltender Casey Desmith, defenceman Jeff Petry, a 2025 second-round pick and prospect Nathan Legare to Montreal Canadiens as part of the deal for the three-time Norris Trophy winner.
“While it is always difficult to trade a player of the calibre of Erik Karlsson, this trade accomplishes several goals for our franchise,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said. “It adds two forwards to our roster who have proven ability to produce offensively at the NHL level and solidifies our NHL defense corps. Additionally, acquiring another first-round pick gives us the opportunity to continue fortifying our development system with high-end prospects and provides us with some financial flexibility to add players as we see fit in the future.”
The complex trade included the Canadiens to ensure that the deal was salary cap compliant. Karlsson has four years left on his contract a cap hit of $11.5 million – $1.5 million which San Jose will retain through the end of the deal in 2027. The Penguins will retain $1.56 million of Petry’s salary.
As part of the deal, the Penguins also received forward Rem Pitlick, Prospect Dillion Hamaliuk and San Jose’s 2023 third-round pick. The Sharks also got Mike Hoffman from the Canadiens.
Erik Karlsson who also won the Norris in 2012 and 2015, is going to his third NHL franchise. He played his first nine seasons at Ottawa with the Senators, before being sent to San Jose in 2018.
In 987 regular-season and playoff games, Karlsson has 814 points; the most by any defenceman since he broke into the league in 2009. He has not appeared in the playoffs since 2019 and will now be a vital part of getting Crosby, Malkin, defenceman Kris Letang, and Pittsburgh back into the mix in the East after their 16-year playoff streak finished last season, leading to major front office changes.
The club team fired president of hockey operations Brian Burke and general manager Ron Hextall in the aftermath and owner Fenway Sports Group handed the keys over to Dubas.
He got a mandate to maximize whatever championship window was left while Crosby, Malkin and Letang are on the roster. The trio won the Stanley Cup together in 2009, 2016 and 2017, but things have been harder in recent years.
The Penguins have not won a post-season series since the opening round of the 2018 playoffs and found themselves on the outside looking in for the first time since 2006 after a late slide that included a loss to lowly Chicago in the final week, a setback that ultimately served as the death knell for the longest active playoff streak in major North American sports.
Pittsburgh’s key players are all in their late 30s. Malkin is 37, Letang is 36 and Crosby turns 36 on Monday. They will be joined by 33-year-old Erik Karlsson, a versatile goal scorer who can sometimes be a liability on the other side of the ice.
Dubas’ trade for Karlsson started shortly after free agency started on July 1, although it took time for all the pieces to come together.
The three-team trade also rids the Penguins of Granlund; a non-factor coming over in a mind-boggling deal at the trade deadline last season and Petry who missed over 20 games due to injury and struggled to be consistent when he was in the lineup.
Pittsburgh’s reconfigured blue line now includes Karlsson, Letang and Ryan Graves, who signed a six-year deal last month. DeSmith’s departure leaves Tristan Jarry who signed a shocking five-year contract to stay in town; as the only goalie on the roster with experience in coach Mike Sullivan’s system.
Last season, the Penguins were the NHL’s oldest team, a position they try to retain when the puck drops against Chicago on October 10th.
With three players who will probably be inducted into the Hall of Fame entering the twilight of their careers, Dubas is counting on his active summer assisting the team close the game that has widened between the Penguins and the contenders in a loaded East.
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