Erik Karlsson to Pittsburgh [TRADE]

[stevegamer]

I like it for Montreal. LeGare & the pick are wild cards. The only valuable piece they gave up is Pitlick. It would be funny if the Sharks turn around and trade Hoffman later today in a bit of deja vu.

They move out Hoffman for Petry. I do wonder about Petry wanting to be there, but there may be an agreement to trade him on to a team he'd prefer to be with.

DeSmith is an upgrade on one or both of Montembault & Allen, who've been below average every one of the last 3 years by GSAA. DeSmith has never been below average. This gives them the opportunity to have a small surplus of goalies, and they can waive Montembault with no issues.

I am unsure if I like it for Pittsburgh. Karlsson is a better offensive defenseman than Letang, but I don't view him as a need there, really. Letang almost can't get dealt, so it will be interesting to see how they run the defense pairs.

The Sharks at least got a pick for a guy who didn't want to be there. Maybe they can deal some of the vets on for younger players or picks as well. Rutta is fine for depth D help.

[rataylor22]

Who was the last 2nd round pick Montreal drafted that played significant time for them? PK Subban? The pick looks good on paper but useless if they don't turn it into anything viable.

It’s funny when you say this while in the same thread saying SJ is a winner for getting the cap space. Cap space only matters if you have good players to spend it on, and SJ overwhelmingly does not.

[Feenom]

Dubas is now officially all in in Steeltown. EK/Letang/Crosby/Guenzel/Malkin is a great PP1. 3 of those guys need to be and stay healthy. Dubas is gambling they will so it makes it very fun and interesting. SJ gets a 1st and cap room and Montreal did well for a team that helped move things along. Should be great to watch Pens games.

[berni67]

Who was the last 2nd round pick Montreal drafted that played significant time for them? PK Subban? The pick looks good on paper but useless if they don't turn it into anything viable.

Romanov, Lehkonen

Also Hutson, didn’t played an NHL game, but he is an incredible top prospect.

[chuckcouples]

If I'm Dubas - I'm getting an NHL vet on WBS though.

Pittsburgh has Hellberg as well as higher end prospect in Blomqvist. I don't think they need another goalie.

[Axeman33]

Romanov, Lehkonen

Also Hutson, didn’t played an NHL game, but he is an incredible top prospect.

I don't care about prospects.

So that's two, even though Romanovonly played two seasons, ill give that to you. Lehkonen broke 30 points once in his tenure in Montreal and didnt really break out until he got out of there last year. Anyone else? What's that percentage?

[McTalbot]

@Random-d don't forget about Mukhamadullin and Thrun.

[ross10019]

I don't care about prospects.

So that's two, even though Romanovonly played two seasons, ill give that to you. Lehkonen broke 30 points once in his tenure in Montreal and didnt really break out until he got out of there last year. Anyone else? What's that percentage?

This is a bit of a red herring discussion. Even if the Habs have had a spotty draft record in the past (not just in the 2nd round…), it’s a new regime now.

Let’s see how Hutson and Owen Beck turn out, for starters. As far as 2nd round picks go…

[tweetdrivr]

Historic percentage for a 2nd round pick to make the NHL is 34%. I’d say the jury is still out on some of the 2018 picks and beyond (Struble, Ylonen, Brook). And I’ll say De La Rose doesn’t count as a success even though he’s played a few seasons. That makes them 2 for 8 since Subban on 2nd rounders or 25%. If any one of the three guys I mentioned make the NHL they are at 33% and if 2 do that’s 40%. So they’re in the historical average ballpark easily.

[4T2]

I definitely like this trade for Karlsson and the Pens.

Honestly it seems pretty decent for all teams all around. San Jose gets out from under the contract without retaining a whole lot of salary. That’s all they ever really wanted to do. 1st round pick is a bonus. It could be a late pick or could easily end up in the middle of the pack too.

I don’t remember the Petry trade request out of Montreal. What was the reasoning? Someone on here mentioned his wife being threatened by fans? An article mentioned Canada’s covid restrictions. Just wondering what the truth was?

[Pengwin7]

One thing I don't quite understand for people supporting the SJ side is this:
SJ cleared "cap space".
OK...
Fine...
What effective things are they going to DO with that cap space?

Garbage teams... ARI... CHI... in recent years... weaponize their cap space by taking bad contracts, eating cap hits, stockpiling assets (picks, players) by doing that.
I think SJ missed a big opportunity to do that.
Maybe (probably) Dubas' set the terms, played hardball, and said "This is what I want - take it or leave it."

But I really don't see where we can applaud SJ for "saving cap space".
They are nowhere near a contender.
They are not an attractive destination for any superstar.
They are a LONG way from being competitive.
They put enough talent back on their roster this offseason (Duclair, Hoffman, Granlund) where they probably don't finish bottom 3 and may miss the "big four"... again.
They have no balance - no solid D-core, no offensive D-men.
The team is as bad a mess with no balance as I've maybe ever seen.
And yet... the cap space is important?!?! IDK.

Somebody explain to me how SJ is going to (EFFECTIVELY) use this "cap space" they are saving on by not retaining more?

[random-d]

@Random-d don't forget about Mukhamadullin and Thrun.

I don't think either one makes the roster this year. They're also both LD while Gawanke is a RD.

[tweetdrivr]

@4T2: Stu Cowan has said it was the covid restrictions. He said that now that those are not a factor Petry is happy to be back. We’ll see.

[ross10019]

@4T2: Stu Cowan has said it was the covid restrictions. He said that now that those are not a factor Petry is happy to be back. We’ll see.

Yeah first she went into a Costco and some ******* manager rolled his eyes at her and shamed her for not being able to speak French.

Then she received basically dumbass hate messages criticizing her for wanting to take her family back to Michigan to be closer to her family given all the Covid restrictions - fans basically calling out Petry for intentionally playing like crap to get traded, but targeting the comments at her.

Man there are some truly idiot “fans” out there.

Meanwhile this woman was amazing with her great instagram posts about his much she and her 4 (!) kids loved Montréal and were adapting to life in this great city - such a refreshing change from so many players who don’t even want to play there given the media and fan craziness. And all this after Petry had absolutely flourished after being traded from Edmonton - and being a key element in the 2021 Cup run.

[evans334]

Each GM got what they wanted in this trade.

Whether or not it's what they needed is another story.

SJ moves on from the behemoth Karlsson contract
PIT gets an elite player to help Crosby & CO go on another run
MTL clears a log jam at forward and gets a pick for helping co-ordinate