The San Jose Sharks granted longtime defenseman Erik Karlsson‘s request for a trade Sunday, sending him to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a three-team deal that also involves the Montreal Canadiens for a haul that includes veteran forward Mikael Granlund and a 2024 first-round pick.
Along with Granlund and the pick, which is top-10 protected, the Sharks also acquired winger Mike Hoffman and defenseman Jan Rutta.
The Penguins also received forwards Rem Pitlick and Dillon Hamaliuk and a 2026 third-round pick, while the Canadiens are getting defenseman Jeff Petry, goaltender Casey DeSmith, forward Nathan Legare and a 2025 second-round selection.
Karlsson, the 2022-23 Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defenseman, had told the Sharks he wanted to be traded to a title contender during the offseason.
“I want to win,” Karlsson said at the NHL Awards media day in June, when he won his third Norris Trophy. “That’s not to say that I’m going to win. I want an opportunity to win. If that opportunity is not in San Jose right now within my timeline, then that’s just the unfortunate part of business. That’s not to say that I don’t like it there or they don’t want me there or we don’t want this to work. It’s just that’s just the way it is.”
Karlsson joins a Penguins team that missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2006 but is reorganizing under Kyle Dubas, the new president of hockey operations and general manager. The Sharks are in the midst of a four-year stretch without a playoff appearance.
The 33-year-old Karlsson posted a career-high 101 points (25 goals, 76 assists) last season, the first defenseman to record 100 points since Brian Leetch in 1991-92. Karlsson is signed for four more seasons at an average annual value of $11.5 million.
The Sharks are retaining $1.5 million of his salary as part of the trade.
“While it is always difficult to trade a player of the caliber of Erik Karlsson, this trade accomplishes several goals for our franchise,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said. “It adds two forwards to our roster who have proven ability to produce offensively at the NHL level and solidifies our NHL defense corps. Additionally, acquiring another first-round pick gives us the opportunity to continue fortifying our development system with high-end prospects and provides us some financial flexibility to add players as we see fit in the future.”
Karlsson is the first defenseman to be traded fresh off winning the Norris since Doug Harvey in 1961. Karlsson spent five seasons in San Jose after playing the first nine years of his career with the Ottawa Senators.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.