The Pittsburgh Penguins are trying to make sure they don’t get edged out of the playoffs by a team like the Florida Panthers this season.
Pittsburgh acquired defenseman Erik Karlsson on Sunday in a three-team deal involving the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens.
Karlsson has four seasons remaining on an eight-year contract ($11.5 million average annual value) he signed with the Sharks in 2019. Kudos to San Jose general manager Mike Grier for retaining only $1.5 million of his salary annually.
The 33-year-old won the Norris Trophy for his stellar 101-point campaign last season. Karlsson was the first defenseman to reach 100 points since Brian Leetch did it in 1991-92.
Let’s take a look at who got what:
Pittsburgh
- Erik Karlsson ($1.5M retained by San Jose)
- Rem Pitlick
- Dillon Hamaliuk
- Sharks third-round pick (2026)
San Jose
- Penguins first-round pick (2024, top-10 protected)
- Mikael Granlund
- Jan Rutta
- Mike Hoffman
Montreal
- Penguins second-round pick (2025)
- Jeff Petry (25 per cent retained by Pittsburgh)
- Casey DeSmith
- Nathan Legare
The Arizona Coyotes signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Matt Dumba to a one-year contract worth $3.9 million. Dumba had a bit of a tough go in his last season with Minnesota. He only produced four goals and 14 points in 79 games, the lowest goals and points total of his NHL career. Both parties will be looking for a bounce back.
Goaltender Samuel Ersson signed a two-year contract extension with the Philadelphia Flyers worth $2.9 million. The Flyers selected Ersson in the fifth round (143rd overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He appeared in 12 NHL games and 42 AHL games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season.