3 NHL Teams That Could Help Facilitate an Erik Karlsson Trade
At some point over the next few weeks, the San Jose Sharks are going to trade superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson. It seems inevitable.
The 33-year-old would like a trade to help improve his chances of winning a Stanley Cup before he retires, and the Sharks seem willing to work with him on that request as part of their extensive rebuild.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes are the two most prominent teams involved in those reported trade talks, but a few roadblocks exist.
The biggest hurdle, of course, is the salary cap. Pittsburgh and Carolina are already pressed to the upper limits of the cap, and even if San Jose agrees to retain some of Karlsson's $11.5 million salary-cap hit over the next four years, there still needs to be some creativity in getting a deal completed.
One potential solution is San Jose taking a bad contract from either team to help clear space.
The other could involve getting a third team involved that Karlsson can be shipped through. The third team could also retain a significant portion of his contract and get something in return from either San Jose or the team acquiring him for the trouble.
To find a team that is willing and able to do that, you need to first look for clubs that have extra salary-cap space and are in a rebuild where they will be looking for future assets in return.
Let's take a look at three teams that fit that description.
Chicago Blackhawks
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Chicago is the most logical candidate to take on such a role in a potential Karlsson deal.
For one, the Blackhawks still have more than $12 million in salary-cap space remaining this offseason and don't have any other contracts that need to be signed. Their roster, for the most part, is set.
They have also shown a willingness to take on bad contracts this offseason in an effort to "buy" a draft pick or a prospect. They already did so with Josh Bailey when they acquired a 2026 second-round draft pick from the New York Islanders to take on the remainder of his deal before buying Bailey out
Chicago has accumulated a ton of draft picks for the next three drafts and could add another.
One intriguing hypothetical that was floated recently by Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now was the Sharks sending Karlsson to Pittsburgh via Chicago, with the Blackhawks taking on the remainder of Jeff Petry's contract as part of the deal and getting a lottery-protected first-round pick from the Penguins in return.
Petry's contract is a problematic one for Pittsburgh given his age (35) and the fact that he still has two years remaining on his deal at more than $6.5 million against the cap. He also lost a lot of his effectiveness this past season and did not play up to expectations.
Given all of that, he'd be a prime candidate to include in a trade to San Jose as a money-matcher, but he reportedly has no-trade protections that he would enact to prevent a move to San Jose because he would rather stay closer to the East Coast. That is where Chicago could enter into the discussion.
Whether it involved them taking on a contract like Petry or simply retaining a portion of Karlsson's contract, there would be plenty of incentive for the Blackhawks to get involved. Their window is still a few years away from opening, they have the salary-cap space over the next couple of years to eat some money, and it would give them another asset for the rebuild.
Arizona Coyotes
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When it comes to teams willing to eat money, nobody feasts like the Arizona Coyotes.
They have become the NHL's dumping ground for unwanted contracts, and they have amassed quite a collection of future Hall of Famers they are paying to not play for them.
Why not add Karlsson to that list?
The Coyotes still have $7 million in cap space this offseason and a whopping $42 million (as of now) for the 2024 offseason.
On one hand, they might not want to use up one of their retained salary spots on Karlsson (Oliver Ekman-Larsson is already taking up one of the three spaces they are allowed) for the next four years, even if it means getting another high pick.
They also tend to take on contracts that have a large cap number and a low remaining salary—in other words, severely front-loaded deals that are nearing their end. Those deals would get them closer to the cap floor (which they sometimes needed help reaching in the past) and not cost them a lot of actual money. Those were two very important elements for the Coyotes.
Retaining a portion of Karlsson's contract would not really fit that mold because if they retained any portion of it, it would cost them significant dollars in real money.
They might, however, be willing to take a player like Petry or Mikael Granlund from Pittsburgh (both of whom have two years remaining on their deals), or perhaps a player like Brady Skjei or even Teuvo Teräväinen (one year each remaining) from Carolina if they wanted to move one of them to help make room for Karlsson.
The latter would also give them another potential trade chip for the deadline that would have some real value.
Arizona is loaded with second-round selections over the next few years, but it might want to take another first-round pick. Getting into the contract-eating game again might help the Coyotes accomplish that.
Nashville Predators
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Let's take a look at a suggestion straight out of left field.
Nashville is going through a transitional phase here with new general manager Barry Trotz taking over and trying to rebuild the team with his vision.
The team is not really going through a full-blown rebuild. It signed Ryan O'Reilly and Gustav Nyquist this summer, and it did not trade players like Roman Josi, Juuse Saros and Filip Forsberg for future assets. At least not yet.
What it has been doing, though, is shedding a lot of other long-term contracts and collecting future assets.
A full-blown rebuild could be on the horizon in the near future, especially if the team misses the playoffs again or has another year stuck in the middle of the NHL standings.
The Predators have $7 million in cap space this offseason and have shed several long-term contracts. They have few commitments beyond this season, and if they are entering a phase where they might not be super-competitive, it might not be a bad idea to weaponize some of that future salary-cap space to try to buy another high draft pick.
The only potential flaw for the Predators would be if they got involved and retained any portion of Karlsson's contract, that would be their third and final salary retention space and would limit their ability to retain salary on any future deal for the next couple of years.
Trotz needs to retool the Predators' farm system and has his sights set on impact talents, and the best way to accomplish that sort of goal is to give yourself as many swings as you can in the draft.
They might not be a team that you would picture for this sort of move, but it wouldn't be a bad idea for them.
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