Crosby and Letang Ignite Penguins Quest to Land Erik Karlsson

Rob Rossi of The Athletic has reported that longtime Penguins superstars Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang are all for Pittsburgh acquiring Karlsson via trade.

What's interesting here is that Letang wouldn't be willing to give up his spot on the top pairing to do so. Karlsson led all defensemen in points last season and won the Norris Trophy which is awarded annually to the NHL's best defenseman. We get that Letang wouldn't want to lose his ice time and be dethroned as Pittsburgh's top defender, but he should reconsider if it helps Pittsburgh's chances at a Stanley Cup win.

While this trade is a tricky one to figure out, hence why it's taking so long, we figured we'd take a stab at a mock trade.

While it's quite the haul of assets to give up, Pittsburgh would be receiving Erik Karlsson with a cap hit of just $6,519,758 annually for the remainder of his deal.

While we know San Jose doesn't want to retain this much money on Karlsson's deal, they'd be getting back multiple draft picks, two young NHLers, a prospect, a proven NHL defenseman, and a very good backup goalie.

While this is just a mock trade, it's fun to think about.

As Seen on The Athletic