Grading the Blockbuster Erik Karlsson to the Penguins Trade | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Sharks receive: 2024 first-round pick, Mikael Granlund, Jan Rutta, Mike Hoffman

Sharks trade: Erik Karlsson, Dillon Hamaliuk, 2026 third-round pick

On one hand, the Sharks had to know expectations for a return on Karlsson were going to be low.

Blockbuster trades always seem a little underwhelming for the team giving up the star, and the Sharks didn't really have a lot of leverage.

They had a player who wanted a trade, controlled where he could go via a no-trade clause and owned a contract that only a handful of teams could take.

That isn't a great position of strength, even though the player in question just did something that had not been done in 30 years (score 100 points in a season as a defenseman) and won his third Norris Trophy.

But even with all of that said, this return still seems shockingly bad and underwhelming for the Sharks.

They will see massive salary-cap savings in a couple of years, which should help them in their rebuild, but that is the only long-term benefit they are getting here. And there is almost no short-term benefit.

Granlund, Rutta and Hoffman are not going to do anything to advance the team this season, especially with Karlsson no longer on the roster. They also have very limited value as future trade assets. They are all over 30 and are far removed from their best days in the league.

Granlund is coming off an awful 2022-23 performance and still counts $5 million against the cap per year over the next two seasons. He can still make some plays as a passer, but not anywhere near enough to justify that salary. He isn't a goal-scorer, isn't particularly fast, doesn't defend well and isn't a meaningful impact player when it comes to driving possession.

Rutta's best role is as a bottom-pairing defender who can provide some decent defensive play, but not much else.

Hoffman can still score on the power play a bit, but he is the type of player that if he isn't scoring goals for you, he isn't doing anything to help your team.

Even the draft pick is top-10 protected, meaning the best the Sharks can hope for is the No. 11 overall pick in 2024. Even that seems like a long shot.

The most likely outcome here is Karlsson helps make the Penguins a playoff team again and that pick is somewhere in the 17-32 range, which isn't likely going to produce an impact player.

Honestly, the best hope for the Sharks here in this trade is that Karlsson's absence, combined with the immediate return, makes the Sharks bad enough to put them in the running for the No. 1 overall pick.

Keep in mind that when Karlsson was on the ice during five-on-five play this season, the Sharks had an even goal differential. Without him on the ice, they were outscored by 53 goals. He made an awful team an average team when he was on the ice. Now, they no longer have that. This could be a very long season for the Sharks.