4 Projected Landing Spots For Penguins Veteran Erik Karlsson
The Pittsburgh Penguins are very busy on the trade market these days, and we heard from Elliotte Friedman this past week that they could move "pretty quickly" on restructuring their roster toward a younger dynamic. One of the most sought-after pieces for a contending team would seem to be three-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson.
The 36-year-old is off to a great start this season, with 17 points in 17 games while playing an average of 23:20 per night. He's a pending UFA, with his $11.5M AAV ($10M cap hit for the Penguins) coming off the books at the end of the year.
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now has listed four potential teams that make sense as a Karlsson fit on the trade market.
- Boston Bruins
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Tampa Bay Lightning
- Washington Capitals
All four teams have designs on making some noise in the playoffs next spring, and they all have some cap space to make a deal work if the Pens retain another chunk of that cap hit.
Bruins & Hurricanes could use Karlsson's offensive drive on the blueline
The Bruins are off to a rollicking start to the season, at 13-4-1 and 27 points, sitting with the best record in the beast of a division known as The Atlantic. An offensive creator from the blueline might be the missing component for the Bruins to go far this year.
At 30 points, the defending Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes are the only team on this list with a better record than Boston. But GM Eric Tulsky does not rest on his laurels. A significant offensive spark on the blueline could also be the missing piece for the Canes to drive for a repeat.
In Tampa, if this is indeed Nikita Kucherov's last season there, GM Julien BriseBois will need to swing for the fences to see if he can squeeze out another Cup run before Kuch leaves. With Karlsson's Team Sweden cohort Victor Hedman on hand, perhaps he could be swayed to join him.
For the Caps, rookie Cole Hutson is already proving to be an offensive force from the blueline, and they also have Jakob Chychrun, of course. But they are familiar with what Karlsson can bring, and could be an interesting suitor.