FILE - Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas speaks to media during an end-of-season availability in Toronto, on Monday, May 15, 2023. The Pittsburgh Penguins named Dubas as the club's president of hockey operations on Thursday, June 1, 2023. The move comes less than two weeks after Dubas was fired as the general manager of the Maple Leafs. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
SAN JOSE – The ongoing saga as to where San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson will play this upcoming season might be given some clarity in the next few days.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, who have made clear their interest in acquiring Karlsson, had a second buyout window open after forward Drew O’Connor filed for arbitration early last month. The Penguins and O’Connor settled on a two-year, $1.85 million contract on Wednesday, leaving the team approximately $3.2 million over the NHL salary cap of $83.5 million for this upcoming season, per CapFriendly.
According to collective bargaining agreement rules, a 48-hour second buyout window now opens up for the Penguins, starting on Saturday. That gives Penguins president and general manager Kyle Dubas the flexibility to buy out any player on his roster whose salary cap hit is at least $4 million, and forward Mikael Granlund’s deal – worth $5 million each of the next two seasons – could be in jeopardy.
Buying out Granlund, 31, would save the Penguins approximately $4.16 million this upcoming season.
If after a buyout the Penguins were to acquire Karlsson from the Sharks, they would still need to make more moves to fit in the three-time Norris Trophy winner’s cap hit, at $11.5 million for each of the next four seasons. One could be placing Jake Guentzel on long-term injured reserve after the forward had ankle surgery on Wednesday. The team said after the surgery that Guentzel, whose cap hit is at $6 million, would be reevaluated in 12 weeks.
The Sharks would also likely have to retain some of Karlsson’s contract to complete a deal with the Penguins. Or, if Granlund is not bought out, the Sharks could take him back in a Karlsson trade to help make the money work for both sides. A third team could also get involved to help consummate a deal between San Jose and Pittsburgh.
It’s also possible that nothing happens at all between the two teams, with the Karlsson situation continuing deeper into the summer.
With the Sharks in a rebuild, Karlsson wants to play for a playoff-contending team, and the Penguins, with superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, remain in a win-now mode. Karlsson’s contract carries a full no-movement clause, giving him veto power over any trade, and he confirmed last month that he has spoken to various members of the Penguins organization, including Dubas.
“I’ve talked to the people I need to talk to in Pittsburgh and Dubas is obviously one of them,” Karlsson, 33, told expressen.se. “I feel like I’ve been trying to get as much information as I can from those teams that are interesting. How they look at me, what they want. I will try to make a decision based on the information I have received. I want to make the best decision for me and my family, if this goes all the way.”
OBITUARY: Bob Murdoch, a two-time Stanley Cup champion and a former Sharks assistant coach, has died at the age of 76, the NHL Alumni Association announced Friday.
Murdoch, who was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinsonism, and Alzheimer’s in 2019, played 757 regular-season games during 12 seasons from 1970-82 for the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, and Atlanta/Calgary Flames.
He won the Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1971 and 1973 and became an assistant after his playing career. He was with the Flames before coaching Chicago (1987-88) and Winnipeg Jets (1989-91). He won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in his first season with Winnipeg in 1989-90. Murdoch was an assistant with the Sharks from 1991-93 under head coach George Kingston.
Originally published at Curtis Pashelka