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4 hours ago
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It doesn't really make sense for the potentially rebuilding Pittsburgh Penguins to keep Erik Karlsson around.
But there are a couple of different things that would have to go a particular way for Karlsson to be traded.
The first is a waiving of his no-move clause, which isn't a given but also goes almost without saying. If Karlsson doesn't waive that, nothing else can happen.
The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun writes that Karlsson would be open to doing that, which opens up the rest of the can of worms.
There's a key deadline here of July 1. Karlsson is due a $5 million signing bonus on that date.
"It goes without saying that there are teams that would rather entertain trading for Karlsson after the Penguins make that $5 million payment," LeBrun writes. "But on the flip side, the Penguins will be less inclined to trade him after making that payment unless teams pay an extra asset to acknowledge it."
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LeBrun also adds that if the Penguins offer to retain some salary in a trade, it could make Karlsson a more appealing acquisition for another team.
The Swedish superstar is 35 years old but coming off a strong 53-point season (11 goals, 42 assists). He also was especially effective in the 4 Nations Faceoff, a good sign given the overall talent on the ice at that tournament.
Karlsson has scored exactly 200 goals in an NHL career spanning 1,084 games, along with a remarkable 670 assists.
Karlsson spent his first nine NHL seasons with the Senators, followed by five with the Sharks before the last two in Pittsburgh.
He may have another destination loading soon enough.
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