Revisiting the Erik Karlsson Trade

On Aug. 6, 2023, new Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas pulled off a shocker. He acquired reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks.

This deal wasn’t a straight-up one-for-one package. No, this transaction involved nine players, three draft picks, and three teams.

Supposedly, the Penguins had completed the heist of the century. Karlsson was just voted the top defenseman in the league. He collected 76 assists to finish tied third in the NHL behind Connor McDavid (89), Nikita Kucherov (83), and Leon Draisaitl (76).

Meanwhile, Karlsson was the 11th player to surpass 100 points, becoming only the sixth defender in league history to amass that many points in a single season. He finished the year with 101 in 82 games.

However, when we look back at the three teams involved in this trade, none made the playoffs, with Pittsburgh close, while San Jose won the draft lottery.

Let’s revisit this massive trade a year later and determine if anyone has won the deal yet.

Pittsburgh

Karlsson had a rough start to his Penguins career, tallying only 11 goals and 56 points in 82 games. He was plus-4, an improvement on his minus-26 from the season prior, but his production fell 55 points, and he went from a draft lottery team to a club that should have been Stanley Cup contenders.

His addition should have altered the Penguins’ dynamics, but Karlsson did not take the bull by the horns, and in the end, he wasn’t the difference-maker people thought he would be.

Karlsson had to adjust to a new city, a new coach, and a new system. Yet he’s a three-time Norris Trophy winner who went from being the only player carrying a team to the finish line to just another cog in a big machine.

When he left the Ottawa Senators and wound up with the Sharks, his numbers dipped from 62 to 45, which isn’t as drastic of a drop from 101 to 54.

However, his offensive numbers never recovered in the Bay Area, outside of the 2022-23 season when he collected 101 points. So, considering the elite players around him in Pittsburgh, is 50-60 points the best they will get from a defenseman who is now 33 and signed for three more seasons?

The answer is probably a resounding yes.

Other Penguins Additions

Rem Pitlick never played for Pittsburgh. Instead, the team traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks in January 2024 for a seventh-round draft pick.

Meanwhile, Dillon Hamaliuk skated in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for eight games but spent most of last season in the ECHL. According to his Elite Prospects profile, he’s headed to Slovakia to continue his pro career.

Montreal

Montreal acquired three players: Jeff Petry, Casey DeSmith, and Nathan Legare. Immediately following the Karlsson deal, the Canadiens flipped Petry to his hometown, Detroit Red Wings, for a fourth-round pick in 2025 and Gustav Lindström.

Then, because DeSmith joining the team just added to an already overcrowded goal crease, Montreal traded him to Vancouver Canucks a month after this deal for a third-round pick in 2025 and Tanner Pearson.

After 39 games with the Laval Rocket in the AHL, the Canadiens traded Legare to the New Jersey Devils. The 23-year-old is now slated to play with the Utica Comets in 2024-25.

Understandably, Montreal had little to do with the Karlsson trade except to make room for Pittsburgh and San Jose to work out their deal.

Yet, one year later, every player involved in that trade never dressed for the organization and is now skating in over teams/leagues.

San Jose

Although the Sharks lost Karlsson, who drove their offense in 2022-23, the players they acquired in his absence contributed to the season’s minor successes last year.

Mikael Granlund scored 60 points in 69 games thanks to 12 goals and 48 assists. He has one season left on his $5 million contract, and if he has another productive campaign, the Sharks could trade him for more draft picks and prospects, further helping their rebuild.

However, not every new player has adjusted to life with the Sharks, as Mike Hoffman had a career-low of 23 points in 66 games. He is no longer under contract; he is a free agent who has yet to find a new team to play with.

Finally, two-time Stanley Cup winner Jan Rutta scored 19 points in 69 games and is playing out the final year of his contract valued at $2.75 million.

Ultimately, outside of Karlsson, who played in 82 games and scored 54 points, the Sharks are the only team in this trade that actually got value from the players they acquired.

Of course, Karlsson made the Penguins a little bit better, but he was one guy, while San Jose had three players who all played more than 60 games and helped keep the team from embarrassing itself every night.

Most likely, the experts will need more time to determine the impact of this trade, but for now, there is no clear-cut winner.