NHL Rumors: Penguins Would Trade Erik Karlsson 'In A Heartbeat' Ahead of 2025 Deadline

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson is reportedly on the trade block ahead of the 2025 NHL trade deadline.

According to The Athletic's Josh Yohe, a team source believes Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas would trade Karlsson "in a heartbeat" if he could.

Yohe also reported that an Eastern Conference executive said Karlsson "is out on there" on the trade market, but the Penguins would need to retain salary to move him.

Karlsson is signed through the 2026-27 season at an annual cap hit of $11.5 million. The San Jose Sharks are paying $1.5 million of his salary per year.

He has a full no-move clause on his contract, which he originally waived to leave the Sharks and join the Penguins in August 2023.

The trade was the first major move by Dubas, who was hired in June 2023 after the Penguins cleared out their front office following the team's first playoff miss since 2006.

At the time, Karlsson was coming off a Norris Trophy-winning campaign with the Sharks, during which he became the first defenseman since Brian Leetch in 1992 to finish a season with at least 100 points.

Dubas was hoping adding Karlsson could help the Penguins rebuild a playoff contender around their aging core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.

But Karlsson, who finished last season with 11 points and 45 assists, hasn't come close to another point-per-game season. His unreliable even-strength defense has also been exacerbated by the Penguins' overall defensive weakness and goaltending struggles over the past two seasons.

Despite having Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Karlsson each available for all 82 games last season, the Penguins missed out of the 2024 playoffs by a single point.

With the Penguins sitting in the basement of the Metropolitan Division and eyeing a third straight postseason absence, Dubas may be ready to move on from a player who's taking up 13.1 percent of the team's 2024-25 cap space.

Adding further impetus to moving Karlsson is the 4 Nations Face-Off, where Karlsson led Team Sweden with three points (one goal, two assists.) Sweden's round-robin win over Team USA might have showed other NHL teams the kind of offensive boost Karlsson could provide with defensive structure and strong goaltending behind him. According to Yohe, one NHL executive said they believed Karlsson could be a better fit on "a good defense team."

Another point in favor of Dubas being able to move Karlsson are the scheduled increases to the salary cap over the next few years. Those start with a $7.5 million jump in 2025-26 that could make Karlsson's deal more palatable, particularly given the money retained by the Sharks.

The Penguins have just one more season with their core three players under contract before Malkin's deal expires following the 2025-26 season. Dubas will be under pressure to put his team on track for quick improvements during the 10 days remaining until the March 7 trade deadline.