Speculation over the futures of Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell and defenseman Erik Karlsson has persisted throughout the off-season.
Rust and Rakell are signed through 2027-28 with annual average values at, or above, $5 million. Meanwhile, Karlsson has two seasons remaining on his deal with the Penguins paying $10 million of his $11.5 million average annual value.
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The Penguins are rebuilding, though management is reluctant to say it out loud. That’s fuelling the conjecture about where those veterans fit within management’s plans.
On Sept. 2, Josh Yohe of The Athletic expressed surprise that Rust, Rakell and Karlsson were still on the Penguins’ roster with training camp fast approaching. He believes the two forwards could fetch returns of prospects, draft picks, or young NHL players. Shipping out all three would improve the Penguins’ chances of winning the 2026 draft lottery and the opportunity to select top prospect Gavin McKenna.
Two days later, Yohe reported Penguins GM Kyle Dubas is content to start the season with his current roster but didn’t rule out Dubas attempting to make a move or two.
Yohe thinks Karlsson stands the best chance of moving, despite his cap hit, his disappointing play over the last two seasons and his no-movement clause. He claimed some teams remain interested in the 35-year-old puck-moving defenseman, provided the Penguins retain a healthy chunk of his cap hit.
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Teams are usually reluctant to retain salary on an expensive contract that has more than a year remaining. However, PuckPedia projects the Penguins will have over $13 million in cap space for the coming season and a whopping $53.2 million for 2026-27. They can comfortably afford to retain up to half of Karlsson’s remaining cap hit.
Yohe wondered if Fenway Sports Group’s attempt to sell the Penguins could affect any attempt by management to retain part of Karlsson’s salary to facilitate a trade.
Brandon Carlo (Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images)
Shifting our focus to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Yohe’s colleague James Mirtle was recently asked if there was any truth to rumors suggesting defenseman Brandon Carlo might become a trade chip.
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Carlo, 28, was acquired from the Boston Bruins before the March 2025 trade deadline.
Mirtle thinks the Maple Leafs are still looking to add to their forward group. He felt that Carlo might be a viable option because they don’t have much trade capital, and they could prefer replacing the shutdown blueliner with a puck-moving rearguard.
The Leafs haven’t suitably addressed the departure of right wing Mitch Marner, but there are few decent options currently available. If Carlo becomes trade bait to address that need, it might not come until later in the season when better trade targets emerge.
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