The Chris Johnston Show: Chris Johnston and Julian McKenzie talking about the Pittsburgh Penguins and if defenseman Erik Karlsson could get traded. He may be okay with a move, and the Penguins won’t want to give him away for nothing. Would there be a fit with the Ottawa Senators?
** NHLRumors.com transcription
McKenzie: “I’m very curious, specifically about Eric Karlsson. We went in on some Pittsburgh Penguins on our last episode. Talk about Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust. What about the market right now for Erik Karlsson? How likely is it that he gets moved, and how likely are the penguins to move him right now?”
Johnston: “Well, he’s willing to be moved. And so I think that, that that helps, because obviously there’s a no-movement clause, but it’s obviously only to a few places. And the flip side of this, I think, Pittsburgh rightly views him as an asset, more of an asset, the closer is the end of his deal, right? He’s down to two years on that contract, and so the contract itself becomes less of a problem.
You know, three years ago, the contract was a problem. He’s still got five years left, but when you get closer to the end, and obviously, in the rising cap environment I’m describing, and on top of that, Pittsburgh does have an ability to eat even more money on it than San Jose already is, you know, I think it becomes a pretty movable object. It just might not be this summer.
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And so, you know, I don’t, don’t have a feel for that. I still think the moves we discussed earlier this week involving Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust are far more likely in the short term for Pittsburgh. Although those are two players as well, both have term left on their deals.
So it’s, you know, the Penguins are in this spot where obviously Kyle Dubas is turning things over getting younger, but he’s not under particular pressure in any of those circumstances to have to do something. I think he, he has the ability to kind of set a price and wait for it. And if it’s not there, you know, well, there is a trade deadline, there’s next summer, and all those types of things.
So, you know, I think a Karlson trade still is possible. But you know, the Penguins aren’t just giving him away because they, you know, I think still correctly see him as someone who can make a difference for a team.
I mean, it was such a brief window of time, but seeing him drop into that Four Nations tournament sticks out my mind. You know, being in the building for this, for those games, you know, how, in the middle of everything, he was, right? And he still does the thing that teams need in terms of driving the puck up ice. Like he, you’re going to have to live with the odd defensive mistake, and it’s occasionally glaring with Erik, right?
But you know, you have to, you have to weigh that against all the good things he does. And I still think there’s a lot of good in his game. And you know, I have to believe at this stage of his career, because he was in San Jose when that team went from contender to not, he’s arrived in Pittsburgh as they’re headed in the wrong direction. You know, I have to think he’s going to get antsy at a certain point here and want to, you know, as much as I think Pittsburgh has been a great fit for his family, and he’s like that aspect of living there. You know, he’s only got so much time, you know, remaining on his clock too, in terms of trying to compete for a Stanley Cup.
And so, you know, I don’t sense that as an imminent piece of business, but, you know, I do think the circumstances are going to align here, that that’s going to see him traded at some point, you know, in the near and nearish future.”
McKenzie: “There’s a fan base in the Atlantic Division that would love to have Eric Karlsson back. I know that.”
Johnston: “You think? I’m sure they’ve got me two minds about it. Are you, wouldn’t, wouldn’t there be some concern, you’re, you’re, you’re, usually, when you’re going for a past glorious thing, it doesn’t go that well, right?
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And that can be for managers in baseball, I think of like Cito Gaston coming back to the Blue Jays or, you know, it’s just often the second or third act with, you know, doesn’t you know, Lindy Ruff in Buffalo? I’m not even blaming Lindy, but, you know, there’s a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in the way fans feel about that and those decisions. But it doesn’t usually pretend great things.”
McKenzie: “That’s true. Michel Therrien and Claude Julian in Montreal.”
Johnston: “I’d say it’d be a cool story, because obviously, the Senators are on a great trajectory. If that could ever work, it would be a cool story if he got back there at a time when they’re on the way up again.
Because really, if you look back when they traded him and Mark Stone, and you know, that was when they, that was signaling that they were on the way down, right? And so, could he catch the speeding train on the way back up? I mean, it’d be interesting to see.”
McKenzie: “Be very fascinating to see. I’m not saying there’s interest. It’s just, just a fun discussion topic for everybody. Just saying.”
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