Things are starting to heat up around Erik Carlson.
According to The Athletic, the Pittsburgh Penguins have sailed as favorites to land Sweden’s Norris Trophy winner.
Team stars Sidney Crosby and Chris Letang reportedly agreed.
It’s no secret that “EK65” wants to be traded and that his current team, the San Jose Sharks, may consider releasing their superstar and thus getting rid of his huge contract ($11.5 million in annual salary).
The Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins have previously been mentioned as potential business partners — and now The Athletics’ Rob Rossi says the Penguins have emerged as the clear favourites.
Crosby agrees
Rossi writes that:
- Several people within the organization in addition to general manager Kyle Dubas—including the players—were in contact with Carlson. Based on these conversations, one feels “confident” that Carlson would prefer to be sent there.
- Captain Sidney Crosby and center Chris Letang gave the go-ahead for three. Letang wants to stay in the first back pair, but is ready to cede his role in the first power play formation to Karlsson.
- Kyle Dubas and his team are working on several scenarios to solve the cap problem. One scenario is a deal outright with the Sharks, and the other involves a third team that can then find some success. One reason is that running back Jeff Petrie (who has a cap of $7.5 million) couldn’t imagine being traded to San Jose, preferring to end up near Michigan, where his family lives.
- The Sharks have identified Sweden’s Marcus Peterson as a potential triple entrant. However, Dubas wants to keep the Swede.
- Dubas could consider trading away first picks, but in this case he wants to include clauses that mean current first picks are not traded away if they are among the top five picks.
Holiday – may be delayed
Rob Rossi believes the fact that a streak has yet to be hit may have something to do with the fact that it’s around August and thus the off times for many NHL team managers.
“There is no indication of that Eric Carlson– The stove has gone cold. But he may have calmed down, if only temporarily, while all parties determine their next steps.”he is writing.
