The Pittsburgh Penguins remain in the hunt for the reigning Norris Trophy winner.

The first weekend of NHL free agency was crazy around the NHL, but especially for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Newly crowned President of Hockey Ops Kyle Dubas signed the most players on the opening day of free agency in franchise history, handing out eight contracts.

However, the Penguins biggest news surrounded the deal that didn't happen over the weekend, Erik Karlsson. As the dust settles on the beginning of free agency, four teams have been rumored to be in discussions to acquire the two-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman.

Besides Pittsburgh, the Carolina Hurricanes are the other favorite to land the 33-year-old Swede. According to TSN's Pierre Lebrun, The Toronto Maple Leafs and Seattle Kraken have also been linked to Karlsson, but the Penguins and Hurricanes appear to be the current favorites.

Last season Karlsson became the first defenseman to score over 100 points in over 30 years, finishing the year with 101 points (25G - 76A) in 82 games. His addition would spark the Penguins' offensive numbers next season, likely propelling them back into the top ten in scoring. But while the offensive upside is tremendous, the Penguins must be careful not to cost themselves too much defensively in trade negotiations.

Early reports last week from Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli were that the Sharks could be a potential landing spot for Penguins defenseman Jeff Petry. Petry played second-pair minutes for the Penguins last season but has significantly slowed down at 35. His $6.25 million salary cap hit would make sense to help the Penguins fit Karlsson's massive $11.5 million cap hit.

As of yesterday, however, Marcus Pettersson's name has popped up to be included in a potential Karlsson return. Including Pettersson in any deal for Karlsson would be a mistake on the Penguins' part.

Dubas spent most of his time and money on Saturday signing players who could help the Penguins defensively in the coming season. Forwards Noel Acciari, Lars Eller, and Matt Nieto were all acquired to avoid blowing leads late in games, as the Penguins were accustomed to doing in 2022-23. Ryan Graves was signed to the largest contract of the day to solidify the Penguins' top defensive pairing.

Moving Pettersson to acquire Karlsson would be counterintuitive to that plan and would undo that work from Saturday. The Penguins finished 19th in the NHL in goals allowed and in expected goals allowed per 60 minutes, rendering the terrific performances from the top six as largely inconsequential.

Without Pettersson, the Penguins would be forced to push Pierre-Olivier Joseph into a top-four role, likely alongside Kris Letang on the Penguins' top pairing, to not force him to cover for Karlsson on the second pairing. If they were comfortable with that, they wouldn't have committed $27 million to Graves a few days ago.

Karlsson is a massive talent and would vastly improve the offensive numbers for the Penguins, but conceding their newly stabilized left side of the defense might be just as hurtful as Karlsson would be helpful.

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