Details of failed three-team trade for Erik Karlsson emerge!

It’s been known for several weeks now that the Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins are the two teams currently vying for the services of star defenseman Erik Karlsson. It has also been reported that the Seattle Kraken and Toronto Maple Leafs were once in the mix, though it seems quite obvious that Pittsburgh remains the front-runner.

To add to the ongoing speculation that Karlsson could soon become a Penguins, Josh Yohe of The Athletic explained how there is a crescendo in the trade situation, one that does look good for Pittsburgh.

Amongst the details of a possible transaction, Yohe reveals how the failed transaction for Karlsson by the Penguins at the opening of free agency was in fact one that involved a third team:

“When the Penguins had the framework of a deal for Karlsson in place more than one month ago, a third team was involved.”

Yohe is talking about the reported failed trade in which the Penguins came closer to landing Karlsson.

It wasn’t reported what happened that kill the transaction on that busy day, though it could mean that the Penguins can revisit and present a scenario that does involve a third-team to take on part of Karlsson’s hefty salary.

Karlsson is under contract for the next four seasons at an $11.5 million cap hit. The deal includes a full no-movement clause and of that big $39.5 million chunk left to be put in his pockets, $13 million has to come in the form of signing bonuses. Sharks GM Mike Grier also seeks a monster return for his player, but could drop the price as we get closer to training camps and the start of the 2023-24 season.

But Yohe remains hopeful for Pittsburgh:

“My sense is the Penguins are indeed the favorite to land Karlsson but that a potential deal would be complicated and ultimately not so satisfying for the Sharks. San Jose general manager Mike Grier appears to have grossly overestimated the return he could receive for the Norris Trophy winner.”

If GM Kyle Dubas can crunch numbers and Karlsson keeps pushing Grier to get a deal done so he can play with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, we may soon have a trade to announce…

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