When Sweden announced its roster for the Four Nations Faceoff, there was a lot of head-scratching because Erik Karlsson made the roster. He was not having that great of a season on the Pittsburgh Penguins, so the trade from San Jose to Pittsburgh did not make sense from the start.
Even though Karlsson won the Norris Trophy, he did so after Brent Burns was moved out of San Jose to Carolina. When he was brought to Pittsburgh, it was a similar situation as Kris Letang was there, not to mention where he was going to play on the power play.
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A report from RG Media came out about a “fire sale” coming in Pittsburgh, as the Penguins will once again miss the playoffs. Karlsson has been the topic of trade talks, as GM Kyle Dubas wants to get younger and retool on the fly, similar to what the Washington Capitals are doing.
On the latest edition of Hot or Not on TSN’s That’s Hockey with Rod Smith and Frankie Corrado, they discuss the play of Erik Karlsson and the value he will potentially get on the trade market, especially if he keeps it up.
Rod Smith: “Erik Karlsson looked pretty good for Sweden night despite two more years with a $10 million cap hit remaining on his deal; a strong tournament could lead to Karlsson being dealt at the deadline next month, hot or not?”
Frankie Corrado: “Hot, because you put Erik Karlsson in a situation where he’s now playing with highly skilled players on a very good team, and you saw the impact that he had. He was great night . He was up and down the ice. He had the puck. He was making things happen. Factor in some scoring for Sweden. So, all that being said, if Erik Karlsson is put in the right situation, you can get a lot out of him now in Pittsburgh; we know where that team is headed.
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They’re not going to make the playoffs. There’s not a lot of skill there. It almost feels like he’s wasting away in a different situation than Sidney Crosby because he’s not exactly a legacy player for the Penguins. But for Erik Karlsson, if he can show something here at this tournament, which he has already in one game, there could be teams call and say, we could use something that puts us over the top.
Karlsson continues to have a stellar tournament. He recorded a goal in Sweden’s second game against Finland, and his stock is rising. Again, look what he is doing with better players. He is still a good offensive defenseman. Everyone knows his liabilities on defense.
There will be a team that tries to get Karlsson, maybe not at the deadline but in the offseason. Again, it will come down to how much Pittsburgh retains on his contract, which has two years left at $10 million. However, if he is put in the right situation, he will make a great addition to a contending team in its Stanley Cup window.”
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