According to Jimmy Murphy of RG Media, the Utah Mammoth are among the teams interested in Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen Erik Karlsson.
It’s been heavily speculated that the Penguins are actively shopping Karlsson as they continue to move deeper into their rebuild. Murphy said:
"There have been numerous reports that the Detroit Red Wings have expressed interest in Karlsson on the NHL trade market. The aforementioned NHL source told RG that recent NHL trade chatter also has the Anaheim Ducks, Utah Mammoth, and Dallas Stars also interested in Karlsson."
Murphy also pointed out that the Penguins won’t be able to move Karlsson unless they’re willing to retain a portion of his $10 million cap hit.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman also reported on his 32 Thoughts podcast that Karlsson’s signing bonuses have already been paid. He said, "The bonus is paid, the actual cash is really down, we'll see."
If that’s the case, the Mammoth would have less to pay in terms of actual cash, but the Penguins would still need to retain part of the $10 million cap hit.
The Mammoth might not be the front-runner for Karlsson, but considering Penguins GM Kyle Dubas wants to rebuild from the ground up, Utah makes a lot of sense. They have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL.
Karlsson is coming off a season where he had 11 goals and 42 assists for 53 points in 82 games. In his career, he has 200 goals and 670 assists for 870 points in 1,084 games, split between the Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks, and the Penguins.
