{"id":221691,"date":"2025-09-12T19:51:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T19:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/221691\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T19:51:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T19:51:09","slug":"east-notes-karlsson-luukkonen-morrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/221691\/","title":{"rendered":"East Notes: Karlsson, Luukkonen, Morrow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that the Pittsburgh Penguins are in rebuild mode, much has been made this offseason about the potential trade candidacy of the trio of Rickard Rakell<\/a><\/strong>, Bryan Rust<\/a><\/strong>, and Erik Karlsson<\/a><\/strong>. Regarding the latter candidate, while speaking on the Kevin Karius Show<\/a>, Josh Yohe of The Athletic expects a trade to be completed sooner rather than later, with one team in particular leading the pack.<\/p>\n

According to Yohe, the Detroit Red Wings have been the most active team in their pursuit of Karlsson. This isn\u2019t to say that the Red Wings are the only interested party, but they are the team that Yohe has heard the most about. Detroit is in a unique position as a team looking to contend, which could also conceivably afford Karlsson\u2019s total $10MM cap hit.<\/p>\n

If the Red Wings considered taking on Karlsson\u2019s full salary, it would limit any potential trade return for the Penguins, but it could be the best option for the rebuilding club. It\u2019s not complicated to ascertain Detroit\u2019s purported interest in Karlsson, as the right side of their defense behind Moritz Seider<\/a><\/strong> is undeniably thin.<\/p>\n

While Karlsson\u2019s defensive weaknesses have become more evident in his game over the past two years, he would certainly be an improvement for the Red Wings behind Seider. Additionally, bringing him in wouldn\u2019t create any long-term commitments, which General Manager Steve Yzerman<\/a><\/strong> has generally worked to avoid during his early years managing Detroit\u2019s front office.<\/p>\n

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:<\/p>\n