Reports of monster trade coming to Pittsburgh!

Ever since the Erik Karlsson trade chatter resurfaced with the San Jose Sharks and the Norris Trophy winning defenseman on the same page to find him a new team, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been in the mix.

Now, Nick Horvat of The Hockey News believes the Penguins should do whatever it takes to get Karlsson. This could mean that Kyle Dubas is indeed looking at pulling the move despite the blue liner’s hefty contract and the report that the Sharks are only willing to retain around $3 million of Karlsson’s $11.5M cap hit.

“The Penguins are reportedly one of two teams remaining in the running for Karlsson, and Dubas needs to be the first to pull the trigger,’ writes Horvat.

The reporter focuses on the fact that the Penguins won’t be contenders once Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang call it a career, hence the time being now to acquire an elite-level offensive defenseman like Karlsson to get back to the postseason and have a real shot at the Stanley Cup. Horvat sincerely believes that bringing Karlsson “would bring a new ray of hope for a team that seemed to be lost in the ocean last year.”

This might be the ultimate solution in Pittsburgh with the championship window closing him, meaning that this monster trade could be in the works.

“If Dubas and the Penguins really want Karlsson, they need to go all in right now and get the deal done,” concludes Horvat.

And I can only agree…

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