4 Trade Ideas for Erik Karlsson and the Pittsburgh Penguins Amid NHL Rumors

The Pittsburgh Penguins were one of the NHL's biggest surprises during the 2025-26 season, snapping what had been a three-year playoff drought and overcoming pretty much every preseason expectation that had them projected as a lottery team.

It was the perfect combination of future Hall of Famers finding the fountain of youth, pretty much every offseason move (and in-season move) working out better than expected, and some young players showing they were maybe ahead of schedule in their development (specifically 2025 first-round pick Ben Kindel).

Now a little more than a month into the 2026-27 season, things are not going as smoothly.

Some of the veteran players are showing their age, some of the offseason moves have not worked out as well as the summer of 2025, the power play has been awful, all while the defense has struggled and the young goalies are struggling to find consistency at the NHL level.

The result, so far, has been at team at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and the NHL standings.

It has also accelerated trade speculation around the team, especially as it relates to some of their veteran players, some of which are in the final year of their current deals.

There is still a lot of hockey to be played, and there is enough talent here and enough wild-cards on the roster that it is possible to think it could still turn around. It may not be time to completely panic just yet. But they do have to be realistic about their situation. It is the very early stages of a rebuild. They enter play on Sunday with just six wins in their first 17 games. In the salary cap era (going back to the start of the 2005-06 season), only 19 teams that have won six games or less within their first 17 games of a season have actually made the playoffs in that season. There have been 106 that missed. The odds are not really in their favor.

So let's try to look at some of the players that could be moved, the challenges that could come from moving them, and try to piece together some ideas and suggestions.

The issue they will have in making trades

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There is going to be a lot of incentive for the Penguins to make some trades at some point this season.

Maybe not immediately, but based on where they are in the standings, the hurdles they have in front of them this season, a desire to keep adding more young players and assets, and the fact they have some younger players that have probably earned at least a look in the NHL that are currently blocked.

The problem: Some of the players they might want to trade are not going to be easy to trade.

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang have been their big-three for two decades, and they may not want to leave Pittsburgh. The Penguins' new owners may not want them to leave Pittsburgh, either. All three have no-movement clauses in their contracts, while Letang simply may not have a lot of value given the term remaining and how he is not the player he once was.

Erik Karlsson is a pending free agent after this season, but can also dictate where (or if) he goes.

Rickard Rakell has a 10-team no-trade clause.

Rakell and Bryan Rust are both mid-30s wingers with term remaining on their contracts beyond this season. Mid-30s wingers with term are generally some of the least desirable trade assets on the market, and not many teams are beating down the door to acquire them.

Andrei Kuzmenko and Sam Girard are unrestricted free agents after the season with no trade restrictions, but their play really has not been at a level that will generate interest.

Justin Brazeau could be attractive as a depth piece given his cheap contract, lack of term, and strong season a year ago.

So it is going to be complicated. But let's see if we can come up with some ideas anyway. It is also unlikely that all of these players go. Or even more than one. Even though the Penguins would no doubt like to make some moves, and even though they are in a rebuild, it does not seem like the type of rebuild that is going to see them sell off everybody and tear it all down to the studs. But there still could (and should) be some moves in the coming weeks and months.

Erik Karlsson to Boston

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The Bruins are off to a sensational start to the 2026-27 season and seem to have a significantly better process behind that success than they did a year ago. They have some really high-end players that can be game-changers, and with James Hagens and Fraser Minten starting to make an impact there is finally some youth and fresh talent making an impact.

What they could use is a little more offensive spark from their blue line.

Karlsson is still searching for a Stanley Cup, and while Boston may not be the best contender in the Eastern Conference right now, it's still looking like a playoff team that has an elite forward (David Pastrnak), a legit top-pairing defenseman (Charlie McAvoy) and a franchise goalie (Jeremy Swayman). That is a team that could do some damage and make some noise. Karlsson may not be the three-time Norris Trophy winner he was at his peak, but he showed last year he can still play at an extremely high level with the right players around him and in the right situation.

Maybe this could be that type of situation and strengthen the Bruins chances.

The trade idea: Bruins trade forward Matthew Poitras and the later of their two 2027 first-round picks to Pittsburgh for Erik Karlsson.

Bryan Rust to San Jose

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Even though the Sharks have a ton of young talent, it is a team that still has a lot of holes and a long way to go before it is a contender.

It is a team that needs to learn how to win.

It is also a team that has absolutely zero depth beyond Macklin Celebrini, and entering play on Sunday has been outscored by a 12-28 margin without him on the ice during 5-on-5 play.

It is a team that not only needs more scoring depth, it is a team that needs something of a veteran presence, and somebody that can bring some seriousness and winning experience to it. Rust would be a great veteran to add to that group, while he could play a variety of roles up and down the lineup. The biggest issue at the moment is that Rust is sidelined due to injury, so something like this would have to be a later season deal after he gets back.

The idea: Sharks trade conditional first-round pick (top-10 protected this year) to the Penguins for Bryan Rust.

Penguins trade for Ivan Miroshnichenko

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The trade ideas do not just have to be about the Penguins necessarily selling.

They could also be in the market to add players, especially if they are young.

The Penguins have spent the better part of the past two years taking fliers on young players that have needed a change of scenery with their previous teams in the hopes that they can catch lightning in a bottle with them. They have had varying degrees of success with it. Some of the players they have taken chances on include Egor Chinakhov, Kaeden Korczak, Nicholas Robertson, Elmer Soderblom and Even Hendrix Lapierre, who they acquired from the Capitals early in the offseason, fits that mold.

Maybe they could go back to the Capitals again, because Miroshnichenko could also fit into that template they have been trying to follow. Especially if they move out somebody like a Rust or Rakell to open up a roster spot in a different trade.

The Capitals would like a first-round pick for him, but that seems like a steep price for a player that is 22 years old and hasn't quite panned out.

Chinakhov was a more established player when the Penguins traded for him a year ago, and that only cost them Danton Heinen, a second-round pick and another mid-round pick.

So let's look at something like that as the model here.

The idea: Penguins trade forward Justin Brazeau, second-round pick and fifth-round pick to Capitals for Ivan Miroshnichenko.

Rickard Rakell to Montreal

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Montreal has one of the best young core groups of talent in the NHL, and after reaching the Eastern Conference Final a year ago there are major expectations for them to compete for a championship starting this season.

There is reason to believe they are capable of it.

As good as their roster is, they could definitely use another top-nine forward, and while a center is their biggest need, Rakell would still be an intriguing target for them given his versatility. He has played a little bit of center over the past two years for the Penguins, and has more than held his own in that spot. He's also a very good winger with some creativity and a better-than-advertised two-way game that has also seen him take on some penalty killing role for the Penguins this season.

He had a horrible start to the season from a goal-scoring perspective, but he was still creating chances and just seemed to be a little snakebit when it came to finishing. That has started to turn around for him. He is signed through the end of next season at a very reasonable $5 million per year salary cap number.

Mid-30s wingers are not usually high on team's trade target lists, but Rakell's ability to play different roles could make him a little more attractive.

The idea: Canadiens trade defenseman Adam Engstrom and a second-round pick to Pittsburgh for Rickard Rakell.