Trade Idea Flips Maple Leafs Veteran for Penguins' Erik Karlsson
With Erik Karlsson's future with the Pittsburgh Penguins uncertain, new possible landing spots have started to emerge during the past few days.
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In a move that would send Karlsson back to Canada, where he started his career as a member of the Ottawa Senators, TSN's Travis Yost proposed the Toronto Maple Leafs as a potential destination.
Yost floated the idea of the Maple Leafs trading for the 35-year-old Penguins defenseman, potentially as a short-term replacement for fellow blueliner Morgan Rielly.
While Rielly trade speculation seems a bit far-fetched for now, Yost noted that the Leafs' restructuring of its defense has lowered the unit's production on offense, something that could be fixed by adding Karlsson.
"Why Toronto?" Yost wrote. "The team's defensive improvements have come at the cost of some offensive pop. Toronto saw slippage in its power-play production last season."
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"Morgan Rielly has shown to be a capable quarterback on the man advantage, but speculation about his long-term status with the Maple Leafs, and coupled with $5 million in cap space and a playoff-calibre core still in tow," Yost added, "you wonder if Brad Treliving can find a fit for Karlsson in Toronto if the Penguins are picking up a big piece of his salary."
Karlsson's $11.5 million cap hit remains a hurdle for a Maple Leafs franchise that only has $5.3 million in current cap space. If Toronto sends Rielly's $7.5 million cap hit the other way, however, the numbers would work.
"If Toronto were to consider moving on from Rielly," Yost wrote, "Karlsson would be one of those players who could short-term replace his offensive contributions."
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Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) at the 4 Nations Face-Off with Team Sweden.David Kirouac-Imagn Images
Pittsburgh isn't under pressure to move Karlsson, but NHL insider Chris Johnston reported that the player is open to being traded.
"[Karlsson] is willing to be moved," Johnston said. "And so I think that helps, because obviously there's a no-movement clause, but it's only to a few places.
"And the flip side of this, I think, Pittsburgh rightly views him as an asset — more of an asset the closer [he gets to] the end of his deal, right? He's down to two years on that contract, and so the contract itself becomes less of a problem."
Related: Erik Karlsson-Maple Leafs Link 'More Than Just Hearsay,' Claims NHL Insider
Related: Penguins Expected to Make Multiple Trades Before Deadline: Report
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
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