It has been confirmed that Erik Karlsson has been traded by the San Jose Sharks to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In a three-way trade with the Sharks and the Montreal Canadiens, the Penguins have received Karlsson, Dillon Hamaliuk and a 2026 third-round draft pick from the San Jose Sharks. In addition to that, Pittsburgh has also received Rem Pitlick from the Canadiens.
In return, the Sharks have received Mikael Granlund, Jan Rutta and the 2024 first-round draft pick from the Penguins and Mike Hoffman from Montreal. They will be retaining $1.5 million from Karlsson’s yearly salary.
The Canadiens received Jeff Petry, Casey DeSmith, Nathan Legare and a 2025 second-round pick from the Penguins. Reports have pointed out that Montreal might trade Petry before the start of the season.
WE HAVE BIG TRADE NEWS TO ANNOUNCE ?
The Penguins have acquired defenseman Erik Karlsson, forward Rem Pitlick, forward Dillon Hamaliuk and a 2026 third-round draft pick in a three-team trade involving the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) August 6, 2023
The Erik Karlsson Trade Happens After Many Months of Rumours
Karlsson’s Career So Far
Drafted fifteenth overall in 2008, Karlsson has had a stellar career and will be remembered as one of the best defencemen of his generation. With his first team, the Ottawa Senators, the 33-year-old was the anchor of the blueline in Canada’s capital.
A seven-time All-Star between the Sens and the Sharks, Karlsson was constantly in the Norris Trophy conversation. During his time with Ottawa, he was voted the winner twice, taking home the award in 2012 and 2015. He also won the trophy again this past season with the Sharks.
After scoring 518 points in 627 games for the Senators, he was traded to San Jose in 2018. Initially, Karlsson got off to a strong start in the Bay. The Swede racked up 85 points in his first two seasons, a total of 109 games. However, the next two seasons saw a significant downturn in production. His huge contract started to look like a massive overpay and the Sharks had buyer’s remorse. Any willing trade partner would have likely been welcomed with open arms.
Nevertheless, Karlsson had a massive turnaround in the 2022-23 season, unexpectedly scoring 101 points in 82 games for the bottom-feeding Sharks. Now a trade has taken place for a different reason; to acquire assets for their rebuild whilst Karlsson’s stock is high.
What Erik Karlsson Will Bring to His New Team
As noted above, Karlsson has the capability to be an extremely high-scoring defenceman. However, his playmaking ability is also elite, with sublime passing and offensive rushing. He will be a significant boost to the Penguins‘ special teams, as one of the league’s best power-play quarterbacks.
The 33-year-old does have some shortcomings which will mean he will never be defensive-defenceman of the year. However, he has plenty of other attributes which do help offset this.
Karlsson is a big player and a strong skater, which he uses to his advantage. When an opposing team is on the attack, he will ensure to get involved. Using these attributes to throw hits and assert pressure, the defenceman will be a strong addition to the Penguins’ blueline and offence.
Main Photo: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
