Pittsburgh Penguins Reportedly Giving Up on Star Defenseman: Trade Likely Coming
The Pittsburgh Penguins appear to be falling short of a Stanley Cup Playoffs spot, and according to reports, it could result in the massive trade of Erik Karlsson.
The 2024/25 season has not gone the way those in Pittsburgh would have hoped, and after turning things around, they're fallen off again, and now appear ready to be sellers ahead of the trade deadline.
Now, a recent report has revealed exactly who the Penguins see as untouchable in the organization, with two notable names that weren't on that list being defensemen Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson.
While Letang is an intriguing name, Karlsson is the most likely to be moved for now, and with such a huge salary, it's also been revealed that the team are willing to retain on salary to move him now.
The 34-year old hasn't quite lived up to the hype in Pittsburgh, but with 4 goals and 32 points in 48 games played this season, it's safe to say that with enough salary retained, a contender out there could be interested in acquiring him at the trade deadline.
On top of that, the NHL's salary cap is expected to grow higher in the coming years, making a deal like this one much easier to move, so while the team aren't listening to offers on their young stars as well as captain Sidney Crosby and star forward Evgeni Malkin, don't be shocked if they move out one of their other veterans ahead of the trade deadline.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Charlie Coyle | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Elias Lindholm | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brad Marchand | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jacob Middleton | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| David Pastrnak | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Will Smith | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Chandler Stephenson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Tage Thompson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Ryker Evans | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Peyton Krebs | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jared McCann | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Liam Ohgren | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Matthew Poitras | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Matthew Beniers | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brock Faber | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Barclay Goodrow | 1 | - | 1 | |
| John Hayden | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Adam Larsson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vinni Lettieri | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Capitals | 46 | 31 | 10 | 5 | 67 | |
Jets | 47 | 31 | 13 | 3 | 65 | |
Oilers | 46 | 29 | 14 | 3 | 61 | |
Golden Knights | 46 | 29 | 14 | 3 | 61 | |
Maple Leafs | 47 | 29 | 16 | 2 | 60 | |
Stars | 46 | 29 | 16 | 1 | 59 | |
Wild | 46 | 27 | 15 | 4 | 58 | |
Devils | 49 | 26 | 17 | 6 | 58 | |
Hurricanes | 46 | 27 | 16 | 3 | 57 | |
Avalanche | 47 | 28 | 18 | 1 | 57 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||