NHL Rumors: 5 Trade Destinations Listed For Penguins' Erik Karlsson

After another playoff miss and the addition of Matt Dumba, the Pittsburgh Penguins may finally be ready to move Erik Karlsson. 

The 35-year-old defenseman still holds offensive upside and carries a manageable $10 million cap hit, especially if Pittsburgh retains salary. According to Sonny Sachdeva of Sportsnet, five NHL teams are emerging as potential landing spots, each with its own reasons to bet on a late-career Karlsson revival.

Vegas Golden Knights

With Alex Pietrangelo’s career likely over, Vegas has a gaping hole on the right side of its blue line. Karlsson wouldn’t replicate Pietrangelo’s defensive game, but his familiarity with Mark Stone and Tomas Hertl, combined with the Golden Knights’ usual trade boldness and LTIR flexibility, makes them a logical suitor.

Erik Karlsson at 35 meets the Verbeek age requirement. Big minus defensively but still brings the puck moving and offense he always has.

The question is, how many mid 30's guys can you load up on, and still expect all their performances to hold? Father time is undefeated. https://t.co/QjP56aMKxB pic.twitter.com/yaKKEMHa9V

— Félix Sicard (@Felix_Sicard) July 9, 2025

Carolina Hurricanes

After adding K’Andre Miller and Nikolaj Ehlers, the Carolina Hurricanes still need a right-shot defenseman to replace Brent Burns. Karlsson’s power-play ability could help fix a unit that finished 25th in the league, and the Hurricanes have the cap room to facilitate a deal.

this sequence by erik karlsson is exactly what makes him great. with that comeback OT win, suddenly the penguins making the playoffs isn’t so crazy pic.twitter.com/Z8yo5F83sS

— ego (@notmalkinego) February 28, 2024

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning lack cap space but have a Karlsson connection in Victor Hedman, who has extensive chemistry with him from Team Sweden. If GM Julien BriseBois decides to make one last aggressive move, Karlsson could add needed offensive flair to a stagnant blue line.

erik karlsson’s pure joy for his teammates will never not make me smile pic.twitter.com/9Io0v4EIGy

— ryan 🛸 (@OTCellyy) December 1, 2023

Toronto Maple Leafs

Karlsson could finally give the Toronto Maple Leafs the power-play quarterback they’ve long lacked. Slotting him into a sheltered role while letting him run the top unit could balance their blueline. A trade involving Morgan Rielly’s $7.5M contract might be required to make it work.

ERIK KARLSSON SCORES HIS 200TH CAREER GOAL! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ZcJ9kI0P3p

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 9, 2025

Ottawa Senators

The most sentimental destination. Karlsson spent nine years in Ottawa, and a return could bring full circle his storied career. The Ottawa Senators are a young team on the rise, and if Karlsson wants a reunion and one more postseason shot in familiar colors, this could be the emotional (and logical) finale.

Happy eight-year anniversary to this absolutely iconic pass from Erik Karlsson. 🤩 #StanleyCup

🗓️: April 17, 2017 pic.twitter.com/lNv4wK8ddk

— NHL (@NHL) April 17, 2025

Photo Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images