Reviewing Erik Karlsson trade grades and Matt Dumba signs one-year deal with the Arizona Coyotes

One of the biggest trade rumours of the summer officially came to light Sunday when the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Erik Karlsson in a three-team trade with the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens.

The reigning Norris Trophy winner has been the talk of the town all summer long after he requested a trade to a playoff-contending team. Although the Sharks missed their chance to play in the post-season quest for the Stanley Cup, Karlsson set a new career-high with 25 goals and 101 points. Now, he has the opportunity to play alongside Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, all thanks to the Penguins’ new general manager and president of hockey operations, Kyle Dubas.

The complete trade sends forward Mikael Granlund, forward Mike Hoffman, defenceman Jan Rutta and Pittsburgh’s 2024 first-round pick to the San Jose Sharks. The Penguins receive Karlsson, forward Rem Pitlick, forward Dillion Hamaliuk, and San Jose’s 2026 third-round pick, which gives the Canadiens defenceman Jeff Petry, goaltender Casey DeSmith, forward Nathan Legare, and Pittsburgh’s 2025 second-round pick. San Jose will retain 13 percent of Karlsson’s salary ($1.5 million) per year and Pittsburgh will retain 25 percent of Petry’s salary ($1.56 million).

This marks the first time since Doug Harvey in 1961 that the Norris Trophy recipient has been traded just months after the NHL awards.

Here’s what The Athletic graded the deal for the three teams involved:

Pittsburgh grade: A+
Montreal: A-
San Jose grade: C

“The deal, though, is about Karlsson. No available player, at any position, was more capable of creating offense. No available player was more capable of shouldering the load — and that, maybe more than anything, was what would’ve held Pittsburgh back in Crosby and Malkin’s twilight. Hextall had built a roster that would’ve relied too much on the players they were in 2013, let alone 2023. Now they’ve got the most remarkable offensive defenseman of his era — maybe of the last few — riding shotgun.

That’ll help Pittsburgh in October, while Guentzel works his way back. It’ll help them during midweek games in December. It should help during the playoffs this year, and maybe for a couple more. Will it work, in the grand sense? We’ll see. Dubas’ job, for now, is about understanding what it means to build a team around Crosby. It’s about respecting the gift. That’s what we saw on Sunday.” – Sean Gentille

Pittsburgh grade: A+
Montreal: B+
San Jose grade: C –

“While the Penguins obviously lose some cap flexibility after absorbing all but 13 percent of Karlsson’s contract, they end up with the best player involved in the trade and shed quite a few pieces in the process without needing a buyout for the cost of a first, a second, prospects who don’t really inspire all that much, and a few supplemental roster players. Karlsson’s an obvious upgrade on the defenders who were moved out of Pittsburgh, and Mikael Granlund’s contract had to go (well, it shouldn’t have even been acquired in the first place, but that’s another story). While it would help to have more goaltending depth than just Alex Nedeljkovic behind Tristan Jarry, the Jarry-Casey DeSmith tandem has run its course, anyway. DeSmith is a replaceable backup.

That makes this a big win for the Penguins to start the Kyle Dubas era. It’s a trade that should put this team back in the playoff picture, without mortgaging the future too much. Maybe there’s more work to be done to really push them back to bona fide contender status, and it’s going to take creativity given the cap picture now. But let Dubas cook if this start is an indication of what’s to come.” – Shayna Goldman

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