Erik Karlsson is among the players the Penguins are looking to move in the coming months.
- Everyone knew the day would come when the dream of another deep playoff run with this aging Penguins core would finally be over. For a lot of fans, change is well overdue.
- Reports out of Pittsburgh suggest GM Kyle Dubas is ready to entertain pretty much anything to kickstart his team's desperately needed rebuild. One humiliating loss after another seems to have added the impetus to get things going sooner rather than later. If the team is going to rebuild or retool on the fly in hopes of sending Sidney Crosby off to retirement on positive note, time is of the essence.
- Other than moving Crosby himself, nothing is off the table. Strong rumours have begun to swirl around the futures of Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Alex Nedeljkovic and Marcus Pettersson. There could be a time where Evgeni Malkin moves on, but that doesn't appear to be on the frontburner.
- Pettersson should generate plenty of interest as a second pairing rental. Letang rumours have been around for years, with reports linking him to his hometown Canadiens. With Crosby (who I repeat, is not being shopped this year), it's always the Nathan MacKinnon Avalanche he's being linked to. Karlsson will be a tough one to move, but the Hurricanes were among those interested before the Pens acquired him last year.
- It's clear that the band-aid job management has tried to do for years has had a similar fate to the post-dynasty Blackhawks with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith et al. Eventually, it's just time to turn the page. Dubas likely knew that was the reality of this Penguins team when he took the job, and now he has to face it head on. Expect the Penguins to be front and center this trade deadline, this summer at the draft, and onwards into the future.
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