Post by bigdawgs on Aug 6, 2023 13:56:50 GMT -5
NHL
NHL trade grades: Penguins acquire Erik Karlsson in deal that fixes mistakes
By Sean Gentille and Shayna Goldman
11m ago
The trade
Penguins get: D Erik Karlsson, F Rem Pitlick, F Dillon Hamaliuk and San Jose’s 2026 third-round draft pick,
Sharks get: Pittsburgh’s 2024 first-round draft pick (top-10 protected), F Mikael Granlund and Mike Hoffman and D Jan Rutta.
Canadiens get: Pittsburgh’s 2025 second-round draft pick, D Jeff Petry, G Casey DeSmith and F Nathan Legare.
San Jose will retain $1.5 million of Karlsson’s salary per year and Pittsburgh will retain 25 percent of Petry’s salary.
Sean Gentille: Erik Karlsson wouldn’t fit perfectly on every roster, or in every set of circumstances. We should establish that, straight away.
For all his gifts — and man, they were on display last season during a 101-point renaissance that won him a third Norris Trophy — he’s still 33 years old. That’s part of the reason he’s no longer a shark. He’s still expensive. That’s why some other enterprising contender didn’t beat Pittsburgh to the finish line. He’s still another foot injury away from disaster, or something approaching it. That’s a bit of reality that adds to the intrigue on the Penguins’ end.
A wart-free hockey player, he is not; look at his defensive impacts at five-on-five and you’ll be disabused of that notion. But a perfect fit for this team, at this time? The centerpiece of a complicated trade that solved a bunch of Pittsburgh’s other problems? Karlsson, somehow, is both. I’m trying to find points to deduct from Kyle Dubas; I’m failing in my quest.
The choice here is simple: Do you want Sidney Crosby — 36 years old on Monday — to play for an actual contender, or don’t you? Do you want to watch the best player of his generation compete in relevant games as his career winds down? The guy has something left in his tank. Why would anyone choose to waste that? Why would anyone choose not to maximize it?
That’s more a question for Ron Hextall, the guy Dubas replaced. That’s a big part of this deal; reversing Hextall’s biggest mistake (acquiring Granlund), mitigating some of his smaller ones (locking up too much cap space in Petry and Rutta, both veteran right-side defensemen), somehow clearing more than $3 million in cap charges for the upcoming season and getting younger in the process. That’s all nice work, especially since Pittsburgh has a new hole on Crosby’s wing due to Jake Guentzel’s ankle surgery.
The deal, though, is about Karlsson. No available player, at any position, was more capable of creating offense. No available player was more capable of shouldering the load — and that, maybe more than anything, was what would’ve held Pittsburgh back in Crosby and Malkin’s twilight. Hextall had built a roster that would’ve relied too much on the players they were in 2013, let alone 2023. Now they’ve got the most remarkable offensive defenseman of his era — maybe of the last few — riding shotgun.
That’ll help Pittsburgh in October, while Guentzel works his way back. It’ll help them during midweek games in December. It should help during the playoffs this year, and maybe for a couple more. Will it work, in the grand sense? We’ll see. Dubas’ job, for now, is about understanding what it means to build a team around Crosby. It’s about respecting the gift. That’s what we saw on Sunday.
The Sharks bought a first-round pick and cleared long-term cap space. Rutta could get something down the line. It’s ugly, owing back to Karlsson’s contract and a dearth of contenders with cap space and a glaring need, but it probably qualifies as the bare minimum.
I like the deal for Montreal. They get back a discounted version of Petry to either provide solid minutes on the right side — which he’s certainly capable of — or to flip to another team. Two years of Petry at $4.69 million, given Pittsburgh’s retention, doesn’t sound bad at all. DeSmith is a solid backup. They had no real use for Hoffman or Pitlick, and second-round picks can be helpful.
Pittsburgh grade: A+
Montreal: A-
San Jose grade: C
Sayna Goldman: Erik Karlsson is not only one of the best offensive defensemen in the league, but in this modern era of hockey. He has some flaws that have been well documented throughout his career, but at his core, he is a play-driver and he doesn’t need much support to thrive. This past season in San Jose was evidence of that, even at 33 years old. While there’s obviously always going to be some concerns of age-related decline for a player in their 30s, someone of his level starts at such a high point that his eventual average can still be great. The key is his health, which has dragged him down in recent years. But a healthy Karlsson can be an elite force on a team’s offense, which should make him a valuable trade asset even with some of the risk associated with committing to the four years left on his contract.
The reason there wasn’t some huge bidding war, or even that great of a return for someone as incredible as Karlsson, is his contract, and the fact that San Jose didn’t want to retain much of it.
While the Penguins obviously lose some cap flexibility after absorbing all but 13 percent of Karlsson’s contract, they end up with the best player involved in the trade and shed quite a few pieces in the process without needing a buyout for the cost of a first, a second, prospects who don’t really inspire all that much, and a few supplemental roster players. Karlsson’s an obvious upgrade on the defenders who were moved out of Pittsburgh, and Mikael Granlund’s contract had to go (well, it shouldn’t have even been acquired in the first place, but that’s another story). While it would help to have more goaltending depth than just Alex Nedeljkovic behind Tristan Jarry, the Jarry-Casey DeSmith tandem has run its course, anyway. DeSmith is a replaceable backup.
That makes this a big win for the Penguins to start the Kyle Dubas era. It’s a trade that should put this team back in the playoff picture, without mortgaging the future too much. Maybe there’s more work to be done to really push them back to bona fide contender status, and it’s going to take creativity given the cap picture now. But let Dubas cook if this start is an indication of what’s to come.
On the other side of this trade, there’s the Sharks and the third team facilitating, the Canadiens. Montreal’s role in this is just fine — Petry could be a stabilizer on their young blue line, and he’s obviously someone they’re more than familiar with. Maybe he ends up as a trade piece closer to the deadline, too. A second-rounder sweetens the deal. A team in the Canadiens’ position should be getting involved in these types of trades to further their process along.
The real problem is what the Sharks got back. Mike Hoffman’s a one-dimensional player who should be able to add some goals support to a team that needs it. Jan Rutta is a solid defenseman, too. Granlund’s game has declined in recent years, but doesn’t matter much to them, since they won’t be competitive in the last two years of his contract. But to take on his cap hit instead of just retaining more on Karlsson doesn’t make enough sense because those players, plus a first, shouldn’t be enough for a game-breaking defenseman.
It feels like San Jose really shot themselves in the foot with the return here because they weren’t willing to hang onto more of Karlsson’s cap. Yes, that would cost them for four years, versus the two years of Granlund’s contract, but it’s a retention slot that’ll be used, regardless. Management should have been more willing to leverage that to squeeze the Penguins, or any other team in the mix, for a better return. Now the Sharks have moved their two biggest trade pieces in Karlsson and Timo Meier, with fairly underwhelming returns back. These were the deals that should have brought back pieces to really push this rebuild along, and San Jose really missed the opportunity.
Pittsburgh grade: A+
Montreal: B+
San Jose grade: C –