(Photo by Darren Yamashita)

By now, you’ve heard the news. Erik Karlsson is now officially a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Kyle Dubas, after weeks of waiting out the San Jose Sharks, was able to swing a massive 12-asset, three-team deal to bring Karlsson to Pittsburgh. 

But besides by far the biggest part of the trade being Erik Karlsson joining the Penguins, many other moving parts can benefit the Penguins in a variety of ways.

Kyle Dubas is one beautiful man. He somehow undid almost all of the damage Ron Hextall did to this team in just one trade.

The acquisition of Karlsson, 33, is the biggest possible sign that this organization is slamming on the gas pedal in hopes of riding this core towards one more Stanley Cup. 

This is the kind of trade that if the Penguins reach a Cup in the next few years, you look back on this as the turning point. But even if Karlsson won’t be the 100-point, Norris Trophy winning defenseman in Pittsburgh like he was last year in San Jose, this trade is still exceptionally good for the Penguins. 

Dubas Finds A Way To Ship Out Granlund

There was a bit of worry when noon came and went yesterday, and Granlund had not been put on unconditional waivers (the first step towards a contract buyout), but Dubas had a plan all along. 

On a personal level, I feel bad for Mikael Granlund. He didn’t choose to be maybe the most infamous piece in Hextall’s awful vision, and once he got here and immediately struggled, already low fan support for him plummeted underground. 

But from a business, and a salary cap perspective, he had to go. There was just no room for a $5 million player who played as bad as he did for the Penguins last season. I hope he can figure things out in San Jose, but it’s amazing that the Penguins were able to find a way to remove that entire contract out of the organization. 

Petry’s Huge Contract Is (Mostly) Out

Jeff Petry did not have nearly as bad a run in Pittsburgh as the aforementioned Granlund, but he certainly did have his rough patches, and for a 35 year old with a $6.25 million cap hit, those mistakes and struggles get magnified. 

If there was a way to move on from Petry, the Penguins should have done it, and in doing so, they also made space for Karlsson. 

In order to ship Petry back to Montreal, where he was before he came to Pittsburgh via Hextall, the Penguins will retain 25% of his contract ($1.562 million to be exact) for the remaining two years of his deal. In all, that barely hurts the Penguins, who still are able to clear out over $4.5 million on the cap and carve out a spot for Karlsson.

Minimal Draft Capital Given Up

Considering the actual players switched around in the deal, it would have been reasonable to assume that a hefty amount of draft picks would have been heading out the door to make this deal happen. But the Penguins lost only two picks to acquire a 100-point scorer. To San Jose, a (very smartly) top-10 protected 2024 first, and to Montreal, a 2025 second. 

That’s it. 

The Penguins even acquired a 2026 third rounder in the deal, one of the three non-Karlsson assets acquired by Pittsburgh. 

Ty Smith, P.O. Joseph, Owen Pickering All Still Penguins

This is very similar to my last point: considering the older NHLers given up in this deal, I’m genuinely shocked that at least one of these guys was not included in the deal. 

In addition to bringing in Karlsson, the Penguins keep three of their good young pieces within the organization. 

Joseph played 75 NHL games last season, and I think has room to grow even better. Pickering, at 19, is about to start his first full season at the AHL level. And Ty Smith, if given the proper opportunity here, I think can be a great everyday defenseman for the Penguins. He made it in New Jersey, he can make it here too. 

With Ruuta also being moved out in the trade, perhaps a chance for a regular NHL job opens up for Smith. 

Penguins Get Value Out Of DeSmith, Legare

As part of this trade, the Penguins sent goaltender Casey DeSmith and prospect Nathan Legare up to Montreal. 

DeSmith, coming off the worst season of his NHL career, and Legare, a middling prospect who has not put up good AHL numbers (to this point), were not going to have good value in any sort of trade. 

But Dubas was able to move out both, including DeSmith’s $1.8 million cap hit, and get back 26 year old forward Rem Pitlick from the Canadiens. 

Pitlick, cheaper than DeSmith at $1.1 million, could be an intriguing addition to the Penguins forward depth. 

This past season, Pitlick split time between the Canadiens and their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. At the NHL level, Pitlick put up 15 points in 46 games, while with Laval, he put up 22 points in 18 games. 

The season prior, 2021-22, Pitlick had 37 total points in 66 total NHL games, split between the Canadiens and Minnesota Wild. 

DeSmith was very likely the third string goaltender this year, with the signing of Alex Nedeljkovic to be Tristan Jarry’s new backup, and Legare was not going to make it very far here with the Penguins. Being able to find an NHL-level forward for those two was a win itself. 

The addition of Pitlick also technically means that the Penguins got younger as a result of this deal. 

Karlsson Is A Better Bet Than Granlund, Petry, DeSmith, etc.

Erik Karlsson’s arrival to Pittsburgh does come at a big price, in terms of the salary cap. San Jose agreed to retain $1.5 million of the Swede’s $11.5 million dollar cap hit, giving the Penguins an even $10 million to absorb themselves. 

That is a large chunk of the room on this team, and (although unlikely) if he bombs here in Pittsburgh, that cap hit will just look bigger and bigger. 

But Erik Karlsson scored 100 points last season. He won the Norris Trophy. He was consistently one of the best offensive defenseman in the league while he was an Ottawa Senator, and after a rough few years in San Jose, he looks like he found that magic again. 

Karlsson is a much better bet to help the team than retaining Granlund, Petry, and DeSmith. He can be a star in the league, and propel this team forward. The same can’t be said for the other three, however much of a bounce back they can have in their new homes. 

Erik Karlsson is the bet you want to make, and it’s the bet Kyle Dubas, and the Penguins, are very confident on.