Insider Sees One Trade Option For Penguin's Karlsson That Makes Any Sense

As the Pittsburgh Penguins dive more into a rebuild, a player like Erik Karlsson is going to be moved. But his contract has a full no-move clause attached to it, so any deal will have to go through him. The veteran is one of the best defensemen of all-time...offensively at least, and he is without a Stanley Cup while his years to reach the top dwindle. The Penguins aren't making the playoff, and if they somehow do, they aren't winning the Cup. The only way he is winning is if he gets traded to a contender.

Frank Seravalli said that "Outside of Carolina it becomes really difficult to squint and see fits for Erik Karlsson moving forward. Karlsson has made it very clear, he wants to have a chance to win."

Why the Carolina Hurricanes are a destination that would fit very well is because they are always winning playoff rounds, regularly making it to the conference finals, and just don't have enough to get over the hump. Nikolaj Ehlers was brought in, K'Andre Miller was acquired, and Alexander Nikishin is finally over from Russia without the team losing very much at all. With over $10 million in cap space, there is plenty of space for a major addition in Karlsson to shore up the right side of the defense.

While bringing in Karlsson would ensure two to three great puck-moving, offensive defenseman on the blue line to complement the defense-first, Shayne Gostisbehere might have to take a backseat and play on the second power-play unit. If the Hurricanes run with two competent units, which they very well can based on the talent on their team, then it should all work out.

The Hurricanes and Penguins are not afraid to link up for a major trade as Jake Guentzel was moved between them a couple of years ago. There are more talented prospects in the system that the Penguins would surely be glad to acquire in a deal. Josh Yohe said that he thinks there are a couple of trades coming for Pittsburgh before training camp and Karlsson, having two years left on his deal at $10 million AAV, is likely the one that would come first. This trade makes a lot of sense, but I am still eying the Detroit Red Wings as a possibility since they have done almost nothing to upgrade this summer, but Karlsson would have to accept a trade there and Carolina has a much better chance of winning.