One team has inside track to land Erik Karlsson in monster trade!

For the past weeks, it has been reported that the Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins are the two teams currently vying for the services of star defenseman Erik Karlsson. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman provided the information that there is a kind of poker game going on between those clubs and the Sharks, that is expected to result in a trade sooner or later.

Rob Rossi believes that the Penguins are Karlsson’s preferred team, suggesting that Pittsburgh has the inside track on the star defenseman, who is coming off a career-best 101-point performance. Rossi mentions how the Penguins enjoy their current position in the Karlsson’s sweepstakes:

“They have multiple plans for how to acquire him if/when Sharks decide to make a move.”

This echoes past reports that the Penguins came close to a deal with the Sharks to acquire Karlsson during the hours leading up to the start of free agency on July 1. However, the deal fell through, though fans aren’t aware why it didn’t happen.

Karlsson fits the Penguins’ win now mode as the window will close soon enough with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang getting older.

We better keep a close eye on this!

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