4 Teams That Have Called Penguins About Karlsson

Erik Karlsson is still a great offensive defenseman even though his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins hasn't gone exactly as hoped or expected. He is still putting up over 10 goals and 50 points as a d-man, and not many players can do that season after season.

It is about time for a change in scenery for the veteran, except his contract isn't the easiest to move. The Penguins are on the hook for $10 million AAV for two more years, but there are at least four teams that have shown interest. Marco D'Amico reported that the Anaheim Ducks, Utah Mammoth, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Detroit Red Wings have all called on Karlsson.

Teams like the Ducks and Red Wings can take on the full cap hit without clearing cap space before or in the trade. As for the Mammoth and Maple Leafs, they can both take on about half of the cap hit, so retention and/or a player headed the other way would make the deal work.

The Penguins shouldn't be hesitant about the money being retained if they can get a good enough return. They aren't just going to give Karlsson away either as he has produced in a big way for the team in the two seasons since he was acquired.

The Ducks have made moves that indicate they are trying to jump into the playoffs this season and acquiring a defenseman like Karlsson would bolster that back-end even more. Young d-men like Jackson LaCombe and Olen Zellweger have played the majority of the time on the power-play, but Karlsson is a clear step up right now.

The Mammoth already traded Michael Kesselring, who would have been a good starting point in a return. Mikhail Sergachev plays a lot on the power play and Sean Durzi also gets some time there as well. Bringing in Karlsson would solidify the right side and allow Sergachev to take a step back and focus on the other aspects of the game for two seasons until he would take back over.

Toronto really needs that number one power-play defenseman, so much so that they ran five forwards on their power play last season. With Mitch Marner gone, they will likely be going back to four forwards and one d-man. Brandon Carlo or even Morgan Rielly might be the player sent the other way.

The Red Wings could use a power-play specialist for two seasons to give Moritz Seider a break and be in that spot until Axel Sandin Pellikka breaks in and develops a little. Detroit needs something big to happen this offseason. It has been a disappointing summer for the Red Wings and Karlsson would at least help and give the team and fans hope that they can make the playoffs again.