Karlsson to PIT

[KBone]

Where are all the morons criticizing Dubas for not doing anything on Day 3 of Free Agency? Freaking out that he’s overrated and terrible and was missing out on players etc.

Hilarious.

Yeah, where's that one guy that was trashing him... lol

[brwi]

Great deal for the Pens and it also shows that there was little market at all for Karlsson's contract. Too few teams that could swing it and SJ just wasn't going to retain much. Absorbing Granlund's 5M hit for the next two years is probably worse than retaining more than 1.5M on EK for 4 yrs though. Pretty lousy deal if you're SJ but they weren't in any kind of bargaining position to do much else.

[Maestro]

"Pitlick and Hamaliuk do nothing for me. Maybe there's something to salvage or gain, but I'm not seeing it."

I disagree - Pitlick can be a 3rd/4th center at age 26 and cheap.
Hamaliuk was set back due to injury but is a power fwd - kind of like spotting a dodo bird out in the woods. Likely a couple years away though.

[Sams_Dog]

How can you not like this trade? He got rid of all the players (except Carter) that needed to go and brought in the reigning Norris Trophy winner and a decent bottom 6 guy. The other teams in the Metro must be shaking their heads.

[the riddler]

Not having to give up Pettersson, POJ, Ty Smith, or Pickering is a major win. That first round pick would've been around pick 15-20 next year most likely. The amount of dead weight they were able to unload is incredible. And get the Norris Trophy winner in the process.

From SJ side, I guess their hand was forced but it's hard to believe they couldn't do better as far as getting another prospect or two.

[KG]

Great trade. Great to have an active GM again who is creative.

1st round pick is top 10 protected too FYI. Also like not giving up POJ, Smith, Pickering, Yager etc.

Funny how Dubas got rid of most of Hextall's moves lol.

This team needed this shot in the arm.

[Puck-Lurker]

"Pitlick and Hamaliuk do nothing for me. Maybe there's something to salvage or gain, but I'm not seeing it."

I disagree - Pitlick can be a 3rd/4th center at age 26 and cheap.
Hamaliuk was set back due to injury but is a power fwd - kind of like spotting a dodo bird out in the woods. Likely a couple years away though.

Hmm, we've got enough forwards that don't score much. Kind of need some extra goals from the bottom 6. Maybe I'm pessimistic and shouldn't focus on their numbers so far. Quite happy with this trade though

[Maestro]

"Pitlick and Hamaliuk do nothing for me. Maybe there's something to salvage or gain, but I'm not seeing it."

I disagree - Pitlick can be a 3rd/4th center at age 26 and cheap.
Hamaliuk was set back due to injury but is a power fwd - kind of like spotting a dodo bird out in the woods. Likely a couple years away though.

Hmm, we've got enough forwards that don't score much. Kind of need some extra goals from the bottom 6. Maybe I'm pessimistic and shouldn't focus on their numbers so far. Quite happy with this trade though

Yeah. As FLP said, Hamaliuk is essentially taking Legare's place in WB most likely. He hasn't scored at AHL level - but at 22 and having a season ending injury his draft year seemed to set him back in development more than expected.

His Dobber report isn't shabby. Going into his draft year he was being seen as a top 6 power fwd. Hasn't panned out scoring wise thus far at pro level.
"Hamaliuk is a big power forward who possesses good speed for his size and an above average shot. His size makes him a safer bet to at least land a bottom six NHL gig in comparison to his peers." (from 2022)

Pitlick though will be useful to the big club this year - he can play on any line, which we know Sully likes in guys. He is actually a good skater and not shabby offensively.
i think he's an upgrade certainly on Granlund, and much better for the cap.

Valtteri Puustinen might be able to burry a few pucks - so let's hope there's more scoring in the bottom 6 this year. But that's always an issue - likely for every team.

And of course grabbing a super star while also shedding a couple of bad contracts is a delicate procedure that has been done to perfection.

[DelPen]

The bottom D pair is going to barely play. And that is something that can be addressed at the trade deadline anyways.

There isn’t any immediate downside to this trade.

[pekkasteele]

Where are all the morons criticizing Dubas for not doing anything on Day 3 of Free Agency? Freaking out that he’s overrated and terrible and was missing out on players etc.

Hilarious.

Yeah, where's that one guy that was trashing him... lol

Probably crying in a corner in mom's basement.

[Caputi19]

Pens will put Guentzel on IR and they will be under cap

[DelPen]

Pens will put Guentzel on IR and they will be under cap

I thought they had to get under with him first then LTIR then they have his salary as available cap but I know there a few ways to deal with it.

If Smith can still get sent down without waivers he seems the simplest move to get that $79k cleared and then we at leeway get the rest of of his $690k banked daily until Jake is back or we also get some of his cap hit back since we got under the cap before he went in LTIR.

[Pensfan4life8771]

We have $5M in cap but not true number since Jake won’t be out all season. Other issue is we are at 21 players. So you still need to sign or bring up 2 players and stay around where we are.

[FLPensFan]

Pens will put Guentzel on IR and they will be under cap

I thought they had to get under with him first then LTIR then they have his salary as available cap but I know there a few ways to deal with it.

If Smith can still get sent down without waivers he seems the simplest move to get that $79k cleared and then we at leeway get the rest of of his $690k banked daily until Jake is back or we also get some of his cap hit back since we got under the cap before he went in LTIR.

The way LTIR works when setting the opening night roster, you either need to be under the cap before placing the player on LTIR, or over the cap as close as possible to the player going on LTIR.

Example1...team is over the cap by 1M and places a 6M player on LTIR. The team only gets 1M in cap relief from the 6M LTIR player.
Example2...team is over the cap by 5M and places a 6M player on LTIR. The team only gets 5M in cap relief from the 6M LTIR player.

So the Penguins will have to do some additional fudging to get cap compliant (like waiving Ruhwedel), then bring all the extra players back using Guentzel's LTIR space.

On Ty Smith, he requires waivers. So does DOC. The only realistic players that have an outside shot to make the team and don't require waivers are Poulin and Puustinen.

[mariojr]

So let me get this straight:

The Pens get Erik Karlsson, the greatest offensive defenseman of our time, still in his prime, even if his defensive play is more than suspect. Our power play just got way better, for one thing. For another, our 3rd pairing minutes just got reduced as has been brought up. I'd keep Letang and Petterson together for their familiarity and pair Karlsson with Graves. Either way, that's a formidable top two pairings that are always a threat to score.

To get him, the Pens gave up their first-round pick in next year's draft, but with protection in case it's a top 10 pick. That's not likely to happen, though. They also gave up a prospect in Legare who hasn't done much yet, plus a 2nd round pick down the line.

And to top it off, the Sharks are taking Granlund off their hands? And Montreal is taking on Jeff Petry? This trade is absolute plunder! It's "pure sports terrorism!"

I hope they have a plan for a new backup goalie, although guys like DeSmith are a dime a dozen, so that shouldn't be a problem. The problem is their No. 1 goalie, actually.

I don't know if this trade makes the team a contender, or even puts them back in the playoffs, but at the very least, they should be more entertaining next year.

[DelPen]

We have at least 3 new goalies that can be as good as DeSmith was so that last thing we need is another goalie.

[DelPen]

We have at least 3 new goalies that can be as good as DeSmith was so that last thing we need is another goalie.

If anything, if Nedelkovic isn’t the best of the backups after camp he can be sent down and the rest are under $1 million so we will get about $400k under before Jake even goes on LTIR.

[SubtropicalPenguin]

Question, can we send Carter down on paper on day 1 to get cap compliant and then call him right back up once we LTIR Jake? No chance anyone would take that contract, so I'm sure he'd clear... but I don't know if that's allowed since he has a NMC.

[thehockeyguru]

We have at least 3 new goalies that can be as good as DeSmith was so that last thing we need is another goalie.

If anything, if Nedelkovic isn’t the best of the backups after camp he can be sent down and the rest are under $1 million so we will get about $400k under before Jake even goes on LTIR.

Id prefer Hellberg over Ned as the backup

[mariojr]

Question, can we send Carter down on paper on day 1 to get cap compliant and then call him right back up once we LTIR Jake? No chance anyone would take that contract, so I'm sure he'd clear... but I don't know if that's allowed since he has a NMC.

I'd forget the calling back up part.

[FLPensFan]

Question, can we send Carter down on paper on day 1 to get cap compliant and then call him right back up once we LTIR Jake? No chance anyone would take that contract, so I'm sure he'd clear... but I don't know if that's allowed since he has a NMC.

I'd forget the calling back up part.

Not allowed. NMC means no movement anywhere, which includes being sent to the AHL.

[Sigwolf]

I'm excited to see how EK will improve the teams ability to move the puck.

I'm more than a little cautious about how well this defensive corps will be able to play actual defense.

[Sams_Dog]

Question, can we send Carter down on paper on day 1 to get cap compliant and then call him right back up once we LTIR Jake? No chance anyone would take that contract, so I'm sure he'd clear... but I don't know if that's allowed since he has a NMC.

No. Carter cannot be sent down, waived, or traded (without his consent to where exactly). He has an iron clad contract basically. All they can do is sit him in the press box as a 13F but knowing Sully's man crush on him he won't do that. I fully expect Carter to be on the ice when the Pens start the season.

[KBone]

I'm excited to see how EK will improve the teams ability to move the puck.

I'm more than a little cautious about how well this defensive corps will be able to play actual defense.

Best defense is a good offense

[BigMcK]

I'm excited to see how EK will improve the teams ability to move the puck.

I'm more than a little cautious about how well this defensive corps will be able to play actual defense.

#Defense#. That's what the other team plays when you are in their zone 3/4 of the game. ;-)

Anyone have any comments to share from reading what Canadian or Shark fan's are saying about the deal?