Surprising Projection on Erik Karlsson's Future this Offseason

22 hours ago  /  NHL Trade Rumors  /  Read Time: 1 minute

Can the Pittsburgh Penguins possibly find a way to trade defenseman Erik Karlsson this offseason and the $10 million cap hit they're responsible for for the next two seasons? According to insider Josh Yohe in The Athletic, his surprising projections for Karlsson this summer is that not only will Karlsson get traded, it won't cost the Penguins an arm and a leg to do it.I believe Karlsson will be traded this summer, though I don’t know that draft picks need to be included. It’s more about salary retention. League sources told me that Karlsson will be a desired commodity if the Penguins retain around $3 million in the final two years of his deal. Karlsson, at $7 million annually, is someone teams would want, and the Penguins might even receive a decent asset in return.So not only will Pittsburgh not have to give up an asset, they might get a good one back? You have to figure that GM Kyle Dubas would be all over that if he can find it. While the Pens are currently riding a surprising four-game winning streak, they're still six points back of the New York Rangers for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. And even if they somehow are able to leapfrog five other teams and snag that last playoff spot, the team is dead-set on getting younger and retooling quickly to give Sidney Crosby another shot at playing on a legit contender. Trading for Karlsson was the first major move that Dubas made after taking over as GM for the Penguins heading into the 2023 offseason, and to say it hasn't worked out is an understatement. The three-time Norris Trophy winner went from a 101-point season with the San Jose Sharks to a 56-point year in his first season in Pittsburgh. In the current campaign, the 34-year-old Karlsson has 49 points and a plus/minus rating of -20.Photo: © David Gonzales-Imagn Images...

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