Toronto Maple Leafs Dodged a Bullet With Erik Karlsson

National Hockey League fans across the globe were treated to a blockbuster trade this past Sunday morning, with 2023 Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson being dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the new home of former Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas.

Despite rumours to the contrary, the Toronto Maple Leafs did not end up being involved.

The trade was a mammoth one, with the Pens forking over multiple big names like Jeff Petry and Mikael Granlund along with two high-end picks in their 2024 first and 2025 second.

Although many will look at this as a win for the Penguins in acquiring a 100-point d-man, the player has been up and down since arriving in San Jose, with last year being his first year over 50 points for the team, for a player making $10 million AAV per season for the next four years.

As for the Toronto Maple Leafs spin on things, as there always is, the team was in talks to land Karlsson and unfortunately, that didn’t happen. But given the cost, it’s better than the team with $40 million tied up in four players who didn’t add another to the equation making it $50 million.

The Toronto Maple leafs Dodged a Bullett

The Leafs made their decision to move off Kyle Dubas at the beginning of the summer, and in the process, the Maple Leafs lost a GM who constantly tried new things, including a philosophy he took with him to his new team, going all-in on a core that has proven time and time again that they can’t get it done.

The Penguins now have just under $31 million AAV committed to 35-year-old Sidney Crosby, 37-year-old Evgeni Malkin, 36-year-old Kris Letang, and now a 33-year-old Erik Karlsson.

For the Penguins, the team will now hope to find a balance with both Letang and Karlsson, hoping to put both players on their top power-play unit. Despite the intrigue of pairing Crosby and Karlsson on the same roster together, the team will have to find a way to make things work salary wise once Jake Guentzel comes off the teams LTIR, having recently put him there this past week for the next 12 weeks at the least.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and their fans avoided the scary future of Dubas trading away multiple future selections, which they do not have an abundance of along with eating a hefty salary for four more years.

With Karlsson, the Penguins will be lucky in the future to gain any assets if things go south, and for a team that missed the playoffs last season in an ever-growing Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division, it’s tough to see them as a favorite to make it given the age and stage most of the players on their roster are in.