Karlsson to PIT

[FLPensFan]

Karlsson was asked about players on the team he is familiar with, particularly the Swedes. Said he's talked to Rakell before at some national team events, has never really talked to Pettersson as he's a bit "younger" than him. Talked about conversing with Sid, Geno, Letang at all-star games.

Nieto is a former Shark, so he knows him well. Eller is someone he played junior hockey with in Sweden (both played for Vastra Frolunda Junior team). He then mentioned Andreas Johnsson played with SJ last year and he played with his dad, and he played with Alex Nylander's dad.

He also semi-squashed the Brent Burns stuff. Dave Molinari asked a question, saying reports in SJ were he had a strained relationship with Burns, and how does he try to avoid something like that with a guy like Letang here. Karlsson said "I don't think we had a strained relationship. We're actually pretty good friends." Went on more to subtly blame it on the team as a whole just not doing well as the reason it didn't work out with both of them, and said he doesn't see anything being an issue here.

[Dynasty1970]

Good interview. I like the guy……always held him in high regard.

[Three Stars]

In the comments of Yohe’s interview recap, he noted that the plan is to play Karlsson with Malkin at 5 on 5, and Malkin is rather excited at the possibility.

[Coffey Break]

In the comments of Yohe’s interview recap, he noted that the plan is to play Karlsson with Malkin at 5 on 5, and Malkin is rather excited at the possibility.

If 87 and 71 can stay healthy, I think they can both hit 100-points. Letang or Karlsson out there every shift for Sid's line and Geno's line, on top of what we presume will be a much more effective and productive powerplay will bode extremely well.

This move was the exact shot in the arm this organization truly needed - haven't been this excited for hockey season in quite some time.

[Daniel]

In the comments of Yohe’s interview recap, he noted that the plan is to play Karlsson with Malkin at 5 on 5, and Malkin is rather excited at the possibility.

If 87 and 71 can stay healthy, I think they can both hit 100-points. Letang or Karlsson out there every shift for Sid's line and Geno's line, on top of what we presume will be a much more effective and productive powerplay will bode extremely well.

This move was the exact shot in the arm this organization truly needed - haven't been this excited for hockey season in quite some time.

It has me excited as well. I didn’t want Karlsson, but if the Penguins did get him I wanted Petry, Granlund, and Carter gone. Well, Rutta instead of Carter isn’t bad but a bit concerned about the PK. POJ needs to really become a capable NHL defensemen because Pettersson and Graves can’t do all the work. I wouldn’t mind another 3rd pairing defensemen to help with the PK (hopefully Smith can help with that).

My only concerns with the trade when I read about it were these 3 things. Too many given up draft picks, not enough cap retention, and I like Legare more than others here. But the more I thought about it the less I was concerned (other than the PK but that’s another discussion for September so not really trade concern related).

With the cap retention concern, the cap will go up next year, Carter & Johnson will be off the books soon, as well as a bunch of the bottom 6 guys Dubas just signed, so the lack of a retention isn’t a big deal. The brilliant thing with the lack of salary retention is that they almost gave up Karlsson’s salary in Granlund, Petry, Rutta so it’s really awash for the next 2-3 seasons and by then Karlsson’s salary will be fine with the cap increase.

Next years draft isn’t that deep so the 1st isn’t a concern, the 2nd is less of a concern. I think Legare will turn into a decent NHL hockey player, though of course it’s too soon to know, but Hamaliuk reads to be the same type of player and further along in his development so we’ll see how that plays out.

[Sams_Dog]

Question. If he unloaded JC somehow, does that automatically make him the greatest GM in pens history regardless of any future mistakes?

It would be really hard to top Craig Patrick who, although his later years were not great because if bad moves and a cash-strapped team, pretty much batted a thousand on moves in one calendar year and won a Cup (1990-91) and steered the ship to another Cup through a LOT of adversity in the next year. in 1990-91 he hired the perfect coach, a lengendary director of player personnel, brought in four Hall of Famers, and drafted probably the best European player ever. Also made about three other moves that worked out great. It turned the whole culture of the franchise around from a team that found a way to lose to a potential dynasty. in two years. Dubas is off to a good start for sure. I like what he's done. But he's got a long way to go to top that. If you want a good read about the 92 Cup team check out "Best in the Game" by Dave Molinari. That team went through some serious adversity.

1000% agree with this. In late 1991, Badger Bob passed away. The team was sold and they limped into the playoffs (if I recall). The 1992 video "Against the Odds" highlighted these issues. It was an incredible time. They faced the team I truly dreaded, the Blackhawks, in the SC Final. And they went through them like a hot knife through butter.

Of course, they did have Chicago's number. During a late season regular game against them, Tocchet had his jaw broken early. He came back in the 3rd with his jaw wired shut and wearing a cage. That's when you knew they would not be stopped.

I think Tocchet scored after the broken jaw. It may have bounced off is body and into the goal,

He did. I remember him scoring with a bloody jersey on. That was impressive. If I can recall all of the issues from that season that the team had to overcome: the illness and death of Badger Bob, the contract negotiations for Francis extending into the season, Recchi getting offer sheeted by Philly, Stevens getting offer sheeted by Boston, the sale of the team and the rumored "sale" of players, Lemieux's back issues (typical), Jagr getting suspended for bumping a ref (was it 10 games?), a near revolt by the players against Bowman, a bad losing streak in February, the huge trade that saw Coffey and Recchi leave, the 12-day player strike in April, going down 3-1 against the Caps, and Mario's hand getting broken against the Rangers.

[Coffey Break]

In the comments of Yohe’s interview recap, he noted that the plan is to play Karlsson with Malkin at 5 on 5, and Malkin is rather excited at the possibility.

If 87 and 71 can stay healthy, I think they can both hit 100-points. Letang or Karlsson out there every shift for Sid's line and Geno's line, on top of what we presume will be a much more effective and productive powerplay will bode extremely well.

This move was the exact shot in the arm this organization truly needed - haven't been this excited for hockey season in quite some time.

It has me excited as well. I didn’t want Karlsson, but if the Penguins did get him I wanted Petry, Granlund, and Carter gone. Well, Rutta instead of Carter isn’t bad but a bit concerned about the PK. POJ needs to really become a capable NHL defensemen because Pettersson and Graves can’t do all the work. I wouldn’t mind another 3rd pairing defensemen to help with the PK (hopefully Smith can help with that).

My only concerns with the trade when I read about it were these 3 things. Too many given up draft picks, not enough cap retention, and I like Legare more than others here. But the more I thought about it the less I was concerned (other than the PK but that’s another discussion for September so not really trade concern related).

With the cap retention concern, the cap will go up next year, Carter & Johnson will be off the books soon, as well as a bunch of the bottom 6 guys Dubas just signed, so the lack of a retention isn’t a big deal. The brilliant thing with the lack of salary retention is that they almost gave up Karlsson’s salary in Granlund, Petry, Rutta so it’s really awash for the next 2-3 seasons and by then Karlsson’s salary will be fine with the cap increase.

Next years draft isn’t that deep so the 1st isn’t a concern, the 2nd is less of a concern. I think Legare will turn into a decent NHL hockey player, though of course it’s too soon to know, but Hamaliuk reads to be the same type of player and further along in his development so we’ll see how that plays out.

Fair point about the PK. He's been pretty versatile on both RD and LD (even as a left-handed shot) but I like Caleb Jones alot. He's still out there and has solid 2-way analytics despite playing on a miserable Chicago Blackhawks team last year.

If there was some way to swing both Jones and Tatar before the season opener, you got some real serious depth options all of a sudden. Gonna be tricky given the cap limitations.

[pens_CT]

In the comments of Yohe’s interview recap, he noted that the plan is to play Karlsson with Malkin at 5 on 5, and Malkin is rather excited at the possibility.

If 87 and 71 can stay healthy, I think they can both hit 100-points. Letang or Karlsson out there every shift for Sid's line and Geno's line, on top of what we presume will be a much more effective and productive powerplay will bode extremely well.

This move was the exact shot in the arm this organization truly needed - haven't been this excited for hockey season in quite some time.

I think the best you can hope for from 87 & 71 is that the average a point per game. The days of them getting 100 points are over. You have to hope that Rust's production increases and that Reilly Smith makes up for Zucker's loss. The 3rd & 4th lines don't seem to have much scoring potential yet again. If 87 & 71 go down with an injury then are we hoping that Eller or Carter takes a top 6 role? Obviously we are in trouble if this happens.

[Coffey Break]

In the comments of Yohe’s interview recap, he noted that the plan is to play Karlsson with Malkin at 5 on 5, and Malkin is rather excited at the possibility.

If 87 and 71 can stay healthy, I think they can both hit 100-points. Letang or Karlsson out there every shift for Sid's line and Geno's line, on top of what we presume will be a much more effective and productive powerplay will bode extremely well.

This move was the exact shot in the arm this organization truly needed - haven't been this excited for hockey season in quite some time.

I think the best you can hope for from 87 & 71 is that the average a point per game. The days of them getting 100 points are over. You have to hope that Rust's production increases and that Reilly Smith makes up for Zucker's loss. The 3rd & 4th lines don't seem to have much scoring potential yet again. If 87 & 71 go down with an injury then are we hoping that Eller or Carter takes a top 6 role? Obviously we are in trouble if this happens.

Sid had 93 points in 82 games, while Geno had 83 points in 82 games last season. I get that age and health are huge factors going into 2023 but the few things we can't ignore:

1) An elite puck-moving d-man out there for every shift 5v5 for 87 and 71. Often, Geno always got the short-end of the stick in terms of a offensive thinking d-man when he's out there 5v5
2) A much improved powerplay with Karlsson as the QB should net a bunch more goals
3) While I was vocally upset about the Rust contract last off-season, I'm hopeful last season was just a mirage and that we will see the Rust of old to help drive more offense on Line 2
4) I'm not at all worried about Reilly Smith - he's a more durable and consistent version of Jason Zucker with excellent 2-way capability (which hopefully will open up the ice for 71 to do his thing)

[Pitts]

In the comments of Yohe’s interview recap, he noted that the plan is to play Karlsson with Malkin at 5 on 5, and Malkin is rather excited at the possibility.

As well he should be. He hasn't really had that type on puck-moving defender on his side for quite some time. Maybe since Gonchar? Also, didn't Gonchar move to Ottawa at the end to mentor Karlsson? Small circles!

[FLPensFan]

In the comments of Yohe’s interview recap, he noted that the plan is to play Karlsson with Malkin at 5 on 5, and Malkin is rather excited at the possibility.

If 87 and 71 can stay healthy, I think they can both hit 100-points. Letang or Karlsson out there every shift for Sid's line and Geno's line, on top of what we presume will be a much more effective and productive powerplay will bode extremely well.

This move was the exact shot in the arm this organization truly needed - haven't been this excited for hockey season in quite some time.

It has me excited as well. I didn’t want Karlsson, but if the Penguins did get him I wanted Petry, Granlund, and Carter gone. Well, Rutta instead of Carter isn’t bad but a bit concerned about the PK. POJ needs to really become a capable NHL defensemen because Pettersson and Graves can’t do all the work. I wouldn’t mind another 3rd pairing defensemen to help with the PK (hopefully Smith can help with that).

My only concerns with the trade when I read about it were these 3 things. Too many given up draft picks, not enough cap retention, and I like Legare more than others here. But the more I thought about it the less I was concerned (other than the PK but that’s another discussion for September so not really trade concern related).

With the cap retention concern, the cap will go up next year, Carter & Johnson will be off the books soon, as well as a bunch of the bottom 6 guys Dubas just signed, so the lack of a retention isn’t a big deal. The brilliant thing with the lack of salary retention is that they almost gave up Karlsson’s salary in Granlund, Petry, Rutta so it’s really awash for the next 2-3 seasons and by then Karlsson’s salary will be fine with the cap increase.

Next years draft isn’t that deep so the 1st isn’t a concern, the 2nd is less of a concern. I think Legare will turn into a decent NHL hockey player, though of course it’s too soon to know, but Hamaliuk reads to be the same type of player and further along in his development so we’ll see how that plays out.

Fair point about the PK. He's been pretty versatile on both RD and LD (even as a left-handed shot) but I like Caleb Jones alot. He's still out there and has solid 2-way analytics despite playing on a miserable Chicago Blackhawks team last year.

If there was some way to swing both Jones and Tatar before the season opener, you got some real serious depth options all of a sudden. Gonna be tricky given the cap limitations.

The Carolina Hurricanes have entered the chat...

They are signing Caleb Jones to a one year deal slightly above league minimum.

[KG]

In the comments of Yohe’s interview recap, he noted that the plan is to play Karlsson with Malkin at 5 on 5, and Malkin is rather excited at the possibility.

If 87 and 71 can stay healthy, I think they can both hit 100-points. Letang or Karlsson out there every shift for Sid's line and Geno's line, on top of what we presume will be a much more effective and productive powerplay will bode extremely well.

This move was the exact shot in the arm this organization truly needed - haven't been this excited for hockey season in quite some time.

It has me excited as well. I didn’t want Karlsson, but if the Penguins did get him I wanted Petry, Granlund, and Carter gone. Well, Rutta instead of Carter isn’t bad but a bit concerned about the PK. POJ needs to really become a capable NHL defensemen because Pettersson and Graves can’t do all the work. I wouldn’t mind another 3rd pairing defensemen to help with the PK (hopefully Smith can help with that).

My only concerns with the trade when I read about it were these 3 things. Too many given up draft picks, not enough cap retention, and I like Legare more than others here. But the more I thought about it the less I was concerned (other than the PK but that’s another discussion for September so not really trade concern related).

With the cap retention concern, the cap will go up next year, Carter & Johnson will be off the books soon, as well as a bunch of the bottom 6 guys Dubas just signed, so the lack of a retention isn’t a big deal. The brilliant thing with the lack of salary retention is that they almost gave up Karlsson’s salary in Granlund, Petry, Rutta so it’s really awash for the next 2-3 seasons and by then Karlsson’s salary will be fine with the cap increase.

Next years draft isn’t that deep so the 1st isn’t a concern, the 2nd is less of a concern. I think Legare will turn into a decent NHL hockey player, though of course it’s too soon to know, but Hamaliuk reads to be the same type of player and further along in his development so we’ll see how that plays out.

Fair point about the PK. He's been pretty versatile on both RD and LD (even as a left-handed shot) but I like Caleb Jones alot. He's still out there and has solid 2-way analytics despite playing on a miserable Chicago Blackhawks team last year.

If there was some way to swing both Jones and Tatar before the season opener, you got some real serious depth options all of a sudden. Gonna be tricky given the cap limitations.

The Carolina Hurricanes have entered the chat...

They are signing Caleb Jones to a one year deal slightly above league minimum.

Ah. There goes the last decent D man on the UFA market. Carolina, Devils, Pens, Rangers. Metro is going to be tough. Isles are always annoying too .

[FLPensFan]

Wondering how Letang really feels about the Karlsson acquisition? Wonder no more.

Matt Vensel of the Post-Gazette happened to be in Montreal this week, and stopped by the center where Letang was training. Below are the main snippets with Letang quotes that I pulled out. Full Article Here

“I love the addition, to be honest,” Letang told the Post-Gazette on Friday.

After the Penguins first engaged the San Jose Sharks in trade talks, Letang said new president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas called to clue him in. “He goes, ‘I’m not looking for approval, but how do you see this fit?’” Letang said. “It would be unbelievable,” Letang replied.

“What I can say is that [it meant something to me] that he called me and said, ‘Kris, I’m going to be up front with you. This is what I’m trying to do,’” Letang said. “And he explained it and said, ‘I want you to be able to raise another Cup. And the best player that is available in a trade right now is Erik Karlsson.’”

Letang dismissed all that talk [of the two fighting for ice time], saying he doesn’t foresee any friction there. He added that Karlsson and he have been friendly for years, often chatting it up at All-Star Games, the NHL Awards ceremony and other league events. “He has such a good personality. He’s really nice,” he said. “He’s always going to come see you. ‘How are you doing?’ He’ll shake your hand. So many times we end up being in lounges and sitting down together and just chatting about the game and the way [our teams] were playing. We get along really well.”

(FLPensFan note...I'm glad someone as smart as Letang easily sees this next one...) As far as Letang is concerned, the only issue will be whether everyone gets too “generous” on the power play. He noted that when you put a few star players out on the ice together, they have a tendency to defer to each other initially. “That’s the only problem you have with that much talent,” he said. “Trust me, every coach in the NHL wants an Erik Karlsson. Every coach in the NHL wants Crosby and Malkin on the power play. Now imagine if you have all of them.”

“If they ask me to play in the pocket, if they ask me to play [in the left circle], on top, net front, it doesn’t matter,” Letang said. “Just as long as we can sit down in a room and make it work out together. That’s all we need to do.”

[offsides]

Thanks for the info FLPF. That is pretty impressive, at least to me, that Dubas would call Letang and tell him about his plans for acquiring Karlsson and why he was trying. I doubt if Hextall told anyone about any of his stupid plans.

[dark_forces]

Wondering how Letang really feels about the Karlsson acquisition? Wonder no more.

Matt Vensel of the Post-Gazette happened to be in Montreal this week, and stopped by the center where Letang was training. Below are the main snippets with Letang quotes that I pulled out. Full Article Here

“I love the addition, to be honest,” Letang told the Post-Gazette on Friday.

After the Penguins first engaged the San Jose Sharks in trade talks, Letang said new president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas called to clue him in. “He goes, ‘I’m not looking for approval, but how do you see this fit?’” Letang said. “It would be unbelievable,” Letang replied.

“What I can say is that [it meant something to me] that he called me and said, ‘Kris, I’m going to be up front with you. This is what I’m trying to do,’” Letang said. “And he explained it and said, ‘I want you to be able to raise another Cup. And the best player that is available in a trade right now is Erik Karlsson.’”

Letang dismissed all that talk [of the two fighting for ice time], saying he doesn’t foresee any friction there. He added that Karlsson and he have been friendly for years, often chatting it up at All-Star Games, the NHL Awards ceremony and other league events. “He has such a good personality. He’s really nice,” he said. “He’s always going to come see you. ‘How are you doing?’ He’ll shake your hand. So many times we end up being in lounges and sitting down together and just chatting about the game and the way [our teams] were playing. We get along really well.”

(FLPensFan note...I'm glad someone as smart as Letang easily sees this next one...) As far as Letang is concerned, the only issue will be whether everyone gets too “generous” on the power play. He noted that when you put a few star players out on the ice together, they have a tendency to defer to each other initially. “That’s the only problem you have with that much talent,” he said. “Trust me, every coach in the NHL wants an Erik Karlsson. Every coach in the NHL wants Crosby and Malkin on the power play. Now imagine if you have all of them.”

“If they ask me to play in the pocket, if they ask me to play [in the left circle], on top, net front, it doesn’t matter,” Letang said. “Just as long as we can sit down in a room and make it work out together. That’s all we need to do.”

The one thing that impresses me with all of this is how great of a communicator Dubas is. He seems to leave no stone unturned and everyone is clued in. Hextall appears to have been the polar opposite.

[Three Stars]

“He goes, ‘I’m not looking for approval, but how do you see this fit?’”

I love this quote. Dubas is asking for his opinion while making it clear who really makes the decision. One part “I see you”, one part “suck it up, buttercup”.

[Puck-Lurker]

“Trust me, every coach in the NHL wants an Erik Karlsson. Every coach in the NHL wants Crosby and Malkin on the power play. Now imagine if you have all of them.”

“If they ask me to play in the pocket, if they ask me to play [in the left circle], on top, net front, it doesn’t matter,” Letang said. “Just as long as we can sit down in a room and make it work out together. That’s all we need to do.”

What he actually means to say:

Trust me, every coach in the NHL wants an Erik Karlsson. Every coach in the NHL wants Crosby, Malkin and Letang on the power play. Now imagine if you have all of them.

If they ask me to play in the pocket, if they ask me to play [in the left circle], on top, net front, it doesn’t matter. Just as long as we can all play on PP1 and make it work out together. That’s all we need to do.

[Three Stars]

https://www.pensburgh.com/2023/8/16/238 ... ith-rumors" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.allhabs.com/Kent-Hughes-has ... ade-266030" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

These are good reads. The Montreal GM was the one who reached out to Dubas checking on the status of the trade on Saturday. He found out at that point that the Canadiens were not on Petry’s no trade list, and offered to be a third party in the deal at that point. Hughes went into this knowing that Petry wanted nothing to do with being back in MTL, so they didn’t even bother with the “bienvenue” press conference.

[dark_forces]

A longtime acquaintance of mine, who's a Sharks season ticket holder, said that the one thing that stood out to him in watching Karlsson over the past few years is his passing. He said he gets the puck where it needs to go and manufactures offense with his vision/decision making. He did say that Karlsson was not at his finest defensively.
It's more of what we already know/have heard, but I figured I'd share anyway.

[Skatingpen]

https://www.pensburgh.com/2023/8/16/238 ... ith-rumors

https://www.allhabs.com/Kent-Hughes-has ... ade-266030" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

These are good reads. The Montreal GM was the one who reached out to Dubas checking on the status of the trade on Saturday. He found out at that point that the Canadiens were not on Petry’s no trade list, and offered to be a third party in the deal at that point. Hughes went into this knowing that Petry wanted nothing to do with being back in MTL, so they didn’t even bother with the “bienvenue” press conference.

Nice to see a GM do the right thing for a player. Hope he does the same for DeSmith

[KG]

There's a pic floating around the internets of EK in a Pens practice jersey with his shark gloves on lol.

[Pitts]

There's a pic floating around the internets of EK in a Pens practice jersey with his shark gloves on lol.

Here you go (sorry about the large size):

[Coffey Break]

Born to be a Penguin...

[lemieuxReturns]

Last night completed this trade. The Pens send the 14th overall pick in this years draft to the Sharks.

Karlsson is the gift that keeps on giving.

[pekkasteele]

Last night completed this trade. The Pens send the 14th overall pick in this years draft to the Sharks.

Karlsson is the gift that keeps on giving.

I rather have our pick next year, I think it will be higher, and I think it is better to have a few more 25/26/27 so we can get higher picks when we hopefully start the damn rebuild!