Three-Time Norris Trophy Winner Erik Karlsson Traded to Pittsburgh Penguins
It's been a long offseason of questions surrounding three-time Norris winner Erik Karlsson, and now we finally have our answers. On Sunday, August 6th, it was announced that Karlsson would be traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a three-team trade. So, let's get into it.
Going Out
On paper, it looks like President of Hockey Operations (and newly appointed General Manager) Kyle Dubas gave up a lion's share for Karlsson. That is not necessarily the case. Dubas essentially undid every move former General Manager Ron Hextall made, while also adding Erik Karlsson.
Jeff Petry, acquired from Montreal a little over a year ago, was underwhelming during his time in Pittsburgh. He had 31 points in 61 games, was a +2, and was third on the team in both hits and blocked shots, with 190 and 111 respectively. But his good defensive plays were few and far in between, and his judgement was questionable at best... like that overtime game against Carolina, where Rust got drilled into the boards by Seth Jarvis, and Petry completely bailed on the play to retaliate, leaving Tristan Jarry out to dry against a 2-on-0. The Penguins will retain 1,562,500 0f Petry's salary for the next two years. Montreal also receives backup goaltender Casey DeSmith, forward prospect Nathan Legare, and a 2nd round pick in 2025.
The San Jose Sharks receive Mikael Granlund, Jan Rutta, and a 1st round pick in 2024. Granlund was acquired from the Nashville Predators at the trade deadline, and had five points in his 21 games with the Penguins, scoring just one garbage time goal in a 5-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Jan Rutta, signed last offseason, put up nine points in 56 games. The 1st round draft pick will be top-10 protected.
Coming In
Let's start with the obvious: Erik Karlsson is now a Pittsburgh Penguin. Last season, Karlsson put up 101 points (25 goals and 76 assists), and won his third James Norris Memorial Trophy. San Jose will retain 1,500,000 of his salary. In addition to Karlsson, Pittsburgh receives forward prospect Dillon Hamaliuk and a 3rd round draft pick in 2026 from San Jose. From Montreal, Pittsburgh receives depth forward Rem Pitlick, who had 15 points in 46 games last season.
Takeaways
Of Karlsson's 101 points, 27 came on the power play. The Penguins had the 14th ranked power play last season, firing at 21.7%, but they failed to score a power play goal in 36 games this season, including a six game stretch in November where they went 0-14. Karlsson will bring offense to a blue line that didn't contribute much to scoring last season, and his presence will also take some offensive pressure off of Kris Letang.
What makes this trade so good for Pittsburgh- other than acquiring one of the best offensive defensemen in the league, of course- is that it is addition by subtraction. Kyle Dubas turned Mikael Granlund and Jeff Petry (two players who never quite found their place in Pittsburgh's system), Casey DeSmith, and a 2024 1st round pick into a defenseman capable of putting up a 100 point season.
