The Erik Karlsson trade has given the Pittsburgh Penguins an extremely formidable top-four defensive group. However, with help lacking at the blueline beyond that core, the Penguins may need to head back to the trade market once more.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' acquisition of Erik Karlsson provides a considerable boost to their top-four defense. However, it came at the cost of their overall blueline depth by trading Jeff Petry to the Montreal Canadiens and Jan Rutta to the San Jose Sharks.
In his analysis of the Karlsson trade, Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette observed its potential impact on the bottom of the Penguins' lineup. While acknowledging that the addition of the three-time Norris Trophy winner is a major upgrade to their blueline's offense, Vensel felt the departures of Petry and Rutta make the Penguins' defensive corps smaller and raised questions about their penalty killers.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now's Dan Kingerski praised Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas for giving up so little to land Karlsson. Nevertheless, he also raised some concerns about the Penguins' overall blueline depth.
Kingerski observed that the level of talent beyond the top four drops sharply with Chad Ruhwedel, Mark Friedman, Ty Smith and Will Butcher, He noted that Friedman and Butcher spent most of last season in the minors.
If Karlsson or Kris Letang end up sidelined at some point this season, Kingerski believes it would make Ruhwedel a second-pairing blueliner while Friedman would slot in on the right side of the third pairing. He felt that Dubas must add another experienced right-side rearguard or risk a possible blueline collapse if injuries strike.
It will require more salary-cap creativity on Dubas' part to address that issue before the season begins. The Penguins are squeezed for cap space for the coming season following the Karlsson trade, especially with winger Jake Guentzel not going on long-term injury reserve as he recovers from off-season ankle surgery.