Ever since San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson talked to the media before the 2023 NHL Awards, at which he won his third Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman, one thing has been clear. He’s on the move. After over a month of rumors and speculation, the Pittsburgh Penguins have officially acquired the right-handed defenseman.
As expected, the trade was a bit complicated for several reasons. First of all, the NHL’s salary cap has been mostly stagnant, only being raised a very small amount. This has left many teams, including the Penguins, a bit tight for cap space. Secondly, Karlsson’s contract is a huge one. He has four years left on his deal and his $11.5 million cap hit made things difficult for all parties involved.
However, those complications didn’t stop the trade from getting done, though the Sharks and Penguins had to get the Montreal Canadiens involved to make it happen. The Penguins are getting Karlsson, a 2026 third-round pick, and forward Dillon Hamaliuk from the Sharks. San Jose is retaining $1.5 million of Karlsson’s cap hit each season, leaving the defenseman with a tidy $10 million cap hit. Hamaliuk had seven points in six games with the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL. Karlsson put up career highs with 25 goals and 101 points in 82 games.
Additionally, the Penguins received forward Rem Pitlick from the Canadiens. He had 15 points in 47 NHL games last season. Pitlick has a $1.1 million cap hit next season and will be an unrestricted free agent following the 2023-24 season.
The Sharks are getting forward Mikael Granlund from the Penguins. Granlund was a trade deadline acquistion from 2023 who simply didn’t work out. He had five points in 21 games with the Pens and 41 points in 79 games overall. Granlund has a $5 million cap hit and two years remaining on his deal. The Sharks also received defenseman Jan Rutta, who has a $2.75 million cap hit with two years remaining. He put up nine points in 56 games last season. The Sharks got the Penguins 2024 first-round pick as well, though it’s top-10 protected. They also received Mike Hoffman from the Canadiens. Hoffman had 34 points in 67 games last season and has one year remaining on his contract with a $4.5 million cap hit.
Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens are getting defenseman Jeff Petry, goaltender Casey DeSmith, and forward Nathan Légaré from the Penguins. Petry previously played for the Canadiens before being traded to the Pens last season. The Pens are retaining 25% of his $6.25 million annual cap hit for the remaining two years of his deal. Petry had 31 points in 61 games last season. DeSmith has one year left with a $1.8 million cap hit. He had a .905% save percentage in 38 games last season. Légaré is an AHL forward who had 19 points last season in 68 games with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. For their assistance in helping to make the trade happen, the Canadiens are also receiving a 2025 second-round pick from the Pens.
This is a pretty complicated trade. It was expected to be complicated, but somehow it’s even more complicated than expected. Surprisingly, there’s not much retained salary in this trade. The two retained salaries (Karlsson and Petry) effectively cancel each other out, though the Pens are retaining $62,500 more on Petry than the Sharks are on Karlsson. Let’s look at the trade from each side.
Montreal Canadiens
Cap space is a valuable asset and the Habs were able to weaponize it. They took on a shade under $6.5 million of cap space for the 2023-24 season and $4.6875 million for next season. A second round pick seems pretty fair, even after you consider they gave up Hoffman for nothing. Pitlick is a surprising addition to the trade considering he’s proven to be at worst an effective bottom six forward. I think they should have gotten an additional mid-round pick for him.
Grade: B-
San Jose Sharks
Considering the San Jose Sharks had minimal leverage, they managed to get a decent return. The 2024 first-round pick is nice. Don’t worry about the top 10 protection, the Pens aren’t going to have a top 10 pick next year. However, they didn’t get anything else despite taking on quite a bit of money from the Penguins and Canadiens. Hoffman is someone they could easily flip at the trade deadline, though. Rutta could be flipped as well, though they may have to retain some of his $2.75 million cap hit.
Ultimately, the Sharks probably should have gotten more, but at least they got a first round pick. Given the circumstances, that’s about as strong of a return as they could have hoped for.
Grade: B
Pittsburgh Penguins
Kyle Dubas has officially made his mark on the Pittsburgh Penguins. This trade means the Pens are officially going all in on another Stanley Cup. Who knows how much longer Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin can remain as outstanding as they are? It’s not a secret the Penguins are screwed when they’re gone anyway, so why not go for more titles?
This trade gives the Pens some insurance for Kris Letang as well. Letang had a very rough season by his lofty standards last season. Age might have had something to do with it, but he also had a lot going on. Not only did Letang have the second stroke of his career, he also had to deal with the death of his father, who Letang was very close to. Given his track record, a bounceback season is definitely in the cards. But if he doesn’t, Erik Karlsson can help the Pens make up for it.
Long term, this trade is eventually going to hurt the Penguins. It’s not a matter of if it will, it’s a matter of when it will. Karlsson is an elite defenseman, but last season was his first good season since 2019-20. He also have a lengthy injury history and has huge defensive concerns. But he tends to make up for the latter with what he can do with the puck.
Regradless of how this trade works out, I like this move for the Penguins. They’ve made a decision to go for it and they’re going for it. I’d rather teams try and fail than do nothing.
Grade: A-
What did you think of the trade? Are you excited to see Karlsson, Crosby, Malkin, and Letang on the same roster? Let me know in the comments!
-Flava Dave
*photo courtesy of Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports*
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