Penguins Trading Erik Karlsson Back to Senators?

PITTSBURGH – With much talk about the Pittsburgh Penguins starting to sell off players outside of their “core,” president and general manager Kyle Dubas made it clear that Erik Karlsson is in that group. Dubas hopes that the Penguins core can help usher in success from a younger group of players that may be right around the corner.

“Erik is a new addition,” Dubas said. “Those guys have the ability and the character to help a younger group.”

Although Karlsson likely sticks in Pittsburgh for a long time, there is always the possibility of changes. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman suggested that a reunion between Karlsson and the Ottawa Senators would make a lot of sense if a change were to come.

“Please recognize that this is manifesting purely in my head,” Friedman wrote in his 32 Thoughts blog. “But, as I watch Daniel Alfredsson on the bench in Ottawa, I can’t help but wonder if the Senators consider a Karlsson reunion.”

The Senators recently brought in franchise icon Daniel Alfredsson as an assistant coach. It’s not out of the realm of possibility he turns into a head coach in Ottawa after Jaque Martin wraps up the season as interim leader.

Friedman knows this would be a tricky move to pull off, especially considering Karlsson’s contract and possibly a broken relationship between the two parties. The Senators are a new organization now and likely on the rise after some bleak years, some of which Karlsson was part of.

“Yes, it’s complicated, and yes, everyone would have to be on board. But no one mind-melds with Karlsson like Alfredsson, and, since it got into my head, I can’t stop thinking about the possibility of it.”

Karlsson was drafted by the Senators in 2008 and played alongside Alfredsson in some of the final years of his career. The Senators were a genuine threat during those seasons, thanks to guys like Alfredsson and Karlsson.

It’s a long shot, and the Penguins want to keep Karlsson around for the opportunity to compete for a Stanley Cup, but if a teardown is coming to Pittsburgh, this kind of outcome makes sense.