Who the Penguins Lost in Erik Karlsson Trade
Erik Karlsson was the headline, but who did the Pittsburgh Penguins have to give up for the three-time Norris winner?
The Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, and Montreal Canadiens all joined forces to pull of the biggest trade of the summer.
In total, nine players were moved, along with three draft picks, and some salary retention, but the highlight is Erik Karlsson finding a new home with the Penguins.
Kyle Dubas pulled off some wizardry to not only add Karlsson at a $10 million salary cap hit, but somehow end the deal $3 million in the green.
The Penguins added Karlsson and depth forward Rem Pitlick, but who did they lose to make everything work in their favor?
Mikael Granlund
Initially a popular buyout candidate, Mikael Granlund departs Pittsburgh with his contract still in tact.
Dubas managed to shed every dime of Granlund’s deal and maintain his stance on avoiding buyouts as much as possible.
Granlund straight up didn’t work in Pittsburgh, and was the final nail in the coffin for the Ron Hextall era.
In 21 games, Granlund scored just one goal and picked up five total points and was a visible step slower than he used to be.
Jeff Petry
If the Karlsson deal was happening, there was no doubt Jeff Petry was on his way out the door.
Petry likely didn’t make the move easy as being sent to a team as far away as San Jose wasn’t ideal for him and his family, who are based in Michigan.
That’s where Petry’s former team in Montreal come into play; they agreed to take Petry back after just a season and the Penguins retained a little over $1.5 million of his average annual value.
The Canadiens, however, may be looking into trading Petry again before the season starts.
Regardless of what the Habs do with their old friend, the Penguins got out from Petry who performed perfectly fine, just not as advertised when acquired a little over a year ago.
Jan Rutta
Arguably the most useful piece lost by the Penguins in this trade was Jan Rutta; much like Petry, he performed perfectly okay, but not up to standard.
Injuries also got in the way of Rutta’s season in Pittsburgh, forcing him to just 56 games.
Hextall signed Rutta to a three-year contract to open the 2022 free agency period, and his $2.75 million cap hit made it tough for the Penguins to maneuver throughout the season.
When Rutta wasn’t injured, he was a steady defensive defenseman for the third pairing, and was able to climb the depth chart in case of injuries.
The Sharks should get good use out of the two-time Stanley Cup winner as they look to completely rebuild their team.
Casey DeSmith
The Penguins just couldn’t enter another season with the same goaltending duo; Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith had gotten stale as a duo and something needed to be changed.
Dubas committed to Jarry with a five-year contract extension, and followed that up by signing Alex Nedeljkovic to a deal, making DeSmith fairly expendable.
DeSmith proved to be a solid option in relief this past season, but he was long past his expiration date in Pittsburgh.
Through the three-way deal, DeSmith found himself in Montreal; the Canadiens are a team with pretty wild instability between the pipes and DeSmith might settle those waters.
He likely won’t be a starter, but the Canadiens need all the help they can get at goalie since losing Carey Price.
Nathan Legare
At one point, Nathan Legare was one of the Penguins’ top prospects and had one of the best shots in the organization.
Ever since signing his entry level deal in 2019, Legare hasn’t taken many steps forward.
His speed hasn’t caught up to him, his defense never came aroun, and while the shot is still there, it hasn’t shown up much on score sheets.
Legare did spend time in the AHL, but couldn’t find phenomenal footing as the offensive producer he was supposed to be.
There could still be a future in the NHL for Legare, and Montreal might be a better fit for his talents.
Dubas managed to pull in a future Hall of Famer in Karlsson and not sacarifice any massive pieces to the organization.
Most of the pieces that were rumored to be involved in a Karlsson deal like Marcus Pettersson, P.O. Joseph, Ty Smith, and Owen Pickering are all still around.
It was a deal that embodied the ‘take all of our bad players for your good players’ mentality.
Dubas deserves a ton of credit for pulling off a deal like this and making the long wait well worth it.
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