Opinion: It’s Time to Acknowledge the Truth About the Karlsson Trade

One year ago today, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas made one of the biggest trades in franchise history, acquiring reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks.

We revisited the details of the trade – as well as the winners and losers in the aftermath – earlier today. But oftentimes lost in the “facts” of the trade are reactionary takes, hindsight biases, and discourse around the value of mid-late first round picks.

It’s time to put narratives to bed and focus on the facts. And the facts are that, in almost every way on paper and in practice, this still stands as a great trade for the Penguins – and, at the time, fans resoundingly agreed:

Even taking a quick look at the replies to the original trade announcement, nearly all of Pittsburgh was elated: Dubas had managed to not only get rid of four bad contracts with some term – including Jeff Petry, Jan Rutta, and Mikael Granlund, all of whom produced meager results for the Penguins and combined for $14 million against the cap – but also gain $3 million in cap space when all was said and done.

The only positive asset Dubas surrendered was a 2024 first round pick, which, alone, doesn’t typically net a generational, Norris-winning defenseman along with extra cap space and the expulsion of multiple bad contracts.

When you peel back all of the discourse surrounding the results of the Penguins’ 2023-24 campaign – and of Karlsson’s generally positive but “mixed bag” first season with his new team – this is a trade that any GM anywhere on any day of the week would make in a heartbeat if they are trying to win hockey games.

And at the juncture the Penguins found…