The Pittsburgh Penguins have a fascinating roster mix of young and old.
They’ve obviously got their all-time great trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
They’ve also got an on-the-rise young core that has to make them feel pretty good about where their future might be heading.
But that dichotomy can be tricky. The NBA’s Golden State Warriors once struggled with the idea of a “two timelines” approach — they tried to both win with Steph Curry while building up their next generation, and it didn’t go smoothly.
Some teams have found ways to meld such age mixtures together better, but it’s not easy, and it can lead to some tough decisions.
That brings us to the Penguins and Erik Karlsson.
While Karlsson isn’t part of that Crosby/Malkin/Letang triumvirate, he’s not far off in age, now 36.
He has in common with them the fact that he’s still an effective player, but he doesn’t have the same long-term ties to Pittsburgh.
That could mean it’s easier to trade Karlsson, if the Penguins decide to go that route.
Erik Karlsson Trade Update
The Athletic’s Chris Johnston included Karlsson on his update trade board on Tuesday.
Johnston had already been putting Richard Rakell on that list, but Karlsson is a new look at what this season might look like in Pittsburgh.
With Karlsson a free agent after the season, he could be on the move.
Key Decision
For a Karlsson trade to happen, though, he’d have to want it to.
Karlsson can veto any trade, and so without his approval, Pittsburgh can’t do anything.
The defenseman also has a $10 million cap hit this season, which will price some teams out of an acquisition unless the Penguins retain some salary.
Still, there’s reason to believe such a trade could be in the cards.
“Karlsson owns a full no-movement clause, so he’s in charge of where this goes, but there’s reason to believe the pending UFA might opt for a change of scenery with the Penguins’ focus more on the future than the here and now,” Johnston writes. “As much as there are some occasional warts in Karlsson’s play on the defensive side of the puck, he’s shown plenty of signs of life over the last 12 months, in particular. Karlsson turned back the clock with 15 goals and 66 points last season, and he’s still logging more than 23 minutes per night. An elite puck mover and talent, he represents an intriguing in-season trade candidate.”
Even at his age, Karlsson is still in the upper-echelon of offense-minded defensemen. That can have value with the right fit, and with the Penguins battling their age dichotomy, Karlsson’s best fit down the stretch of this season could be somewhere else.
Penguins’ Erik Karlsson Trade Update Depends On 1 Choice