It took a month of haggling, but Pens’ Grand Poobah (GM/Director Of Hockey Operations… yeah, I ain’t saying all of that) Kyle Dubas managed to get Sidney Crosby the perfect birthday present… defenseman Erik Karlsson. The deal that’s been rumored since… well, forever… finally came together with Montreal serving as the mystery third team that greased the wheels for a move.
The particulars are:
San Jose also retains $1.5M of Karlsson’s $11.5M contract, but the Pens retain a similar amount of Jeff Petry’s, so from the Pens’ standpoint it evens out.
Pittsburgh’s motivations here are obvious. They’re pretty obviously trying to squeeze one last Stanley Cup out of the Crosby-Malkin-Letang core, and to some extent they don’t care what happens after that because it’s going to involve a major retool. Sid’s retirement will do to this team what the meteor did to the dinosaurs, and we just have to be OK with that. But for those remaining 2-4 years, they add one of the best offensive defensemen in the game, even if he’s at a pretty expensive price tag and doesn’t play a lick of defense. Between this and standing pat with Tristan Jarry in net, they’re going to be leaning into winning a lot of 6-4 games. But still… it does make the Pens a more dynamic offensive team in the short term, and specifically should help the power play, which struggled mightily last year.
And OK, they got rid of almost ALL of Ron Hextall’s bad contracts in the process. For $6M, Petry needed to be a Norris candidate, not a second-pair talent; Granlund was a disastrous trade-deadline acquisition at $5M a year. Rutta ($2.5M) and DeSmith ($1.8M) weren’t horrific overpays, but they’re luxuries when you’re already bumping your head against the cap, as the Pens are. So trading $14M-ish worth of “meh” for one $10M guy who’s likely to be very good… that makes a certain demented amount of sense.
As for the other guys, Hamaliuk has some decent size (6’3″) but hasn’t produced much in the minors, Pitlick could find himself in the mix for the bottom six, but I don’t think either moves the needle much.
The only thing I don’t like a lot is that they only got San Jose to retain $1.5M. When they were talking about retaining $3-4M and making Karlsson a $7.5-8.5M acquisition, that seemed like a more comfortable landing spot. But again, it comes down to “you don’t care what happens after the meteor strikes”. If the wheels come off and Crosby retires at the end of his contract in 2 years… you can probably still ship Karlsson back out. And if you can’t, you blow the whole thing up and he’s the one salary you keep around to get over the minimum salary.
For San Jose, it’s all about paying off the credit card early. Salary-wise, Hoffman and Granlund end up being about the same price as Karlsson today, but Hoffman is done after this year and Granlund after next, whereas Karlsson had four years left. So two years from now, the Sharks will have a mostly clean ledger while the Pens will still be paying Karlsson $10M. And the Sharks get an extra first-round pick. The fact that it’s top-10 protected isn’t that critical; with Karlsson the Pens are a decent bet to make the playoffs anyway. (And I’d add that Hoffman has enough rep as a goal scorer that they might be able to flip him at the deadline and get another pick or two if he has a good first half.)
Montreal is the third team, which mostly represents Jeff Petry having a no-trade clause and not wanting to go to the Sharks. (Two reasons: 1) at age 35 going on 36, he doesn’t want to wait on a rebuild and 2) he’s expressed that he wants to stay closer to his family in… Michigan, I think?). So basically, the Pens traded Petry (plus parts) to Montreal for Hoffman, and then sent Hoffman — who couldn’t refuse the trade — along to San Jose. It’s a little hard to see why Montreal wants Petry, and it wouldn’t even surprise me if they turn around and ship him back out, but Legare (still young enough to have some prospect buzz), DeSmith (in the ballpark of what you pay for a backup goalie), and a decent draft pick in what’s supposed to be a deep 2024 draft make for an OK package to swap one overpriced veteran for another.
My prediction on Petry’s ultimate destination: Detroit. They’re a young team on the rise, they’ve got a young-but-talented defense corps that could use a veteran mentor, and if Montreal retains a little more salary, that could be a good fit. But I’m not some insider… just a gut feeling.
So there it is… after a month of will they or won’t they, the Pens finally get their man, get their salary cap situation under control, and mostly hit reset on the Ron Hextall era. (Don’t mind me, muttering things under my breath in the general direction of Jeff Carter.) Does it make them Cup condtenders? They’re probably at least in the conversation now, but hardly the favorites. Does it make them a better team? Absolutely.
Happy Birthday, Sid!
Mental Zoomies 