The Erik Karlsson trade rumors appear to be winding down and it is looking like he will be staying in San Jose rather than be traded to Carolina, Toronto, or Pittsburgh.
Frank Seravalli was on Sportsnet 590 and stated that the San Jose Sharks are willing to eat 20% of his contract and nothing more. The teams mentioned above are not able to take on a player with a $9.5 million salary cap hit after the 20% reduction.
This is now leading to NHL trade rumors that the Pittsburgh Penguins will target Calgary Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin.
Will Noah Hanifin be traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins?
The Pittsburgh Penguins are hoping to have one more shot at the Stanley Cup rather than looking at a rebuild and new GM Kyle Dubas wants to make his mark with a big trade.
For salaries to work for both teams, the Penguins would receive Noah Hanifin, and going to the Calgary Flames would be center Mikael Granlund, prospect Owen Pickering and the Penguins 2024 first-round pick.
It will be interesting to see what the Penguins do this off-season. It is obvious GM Dubas wants to land a big fish defenseman but with the NHL’s hard salary cap, he may be stuck with the team he inherited.
Pickering and 1st doesn’t work for Penguins. Cap casualties Petry or Granlund. Period
Granlund doesn’t work for Calgary. Jeff Carter could work though with a lower cap hit and just 1 year left on his contract. Calgary could still retain some salary on Hanifin just not 50%.
Calgary counters with Hanifin at 50% retained for Pickering and the 1st. Pittsburgh can find another way to move Granlund and his cap hit.