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Penguins’ Erik Karlsson Could Become Huge Trade Piece

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Penguins’ Erik Karlsson Could Become Huge Trade Piece


Pittsburgh Penguins defender Erik Karlsson is one of the greatest defensemen in the modern NHL era. At age 35, he’s carved out a Hockey Hall of Fame career lined with multiple Norris Trophy wins and closing in on 900 career points. He already sits as the NHL’s 15th-highest scoring defender of all-time.

Despite the incredible career resume, the Penguins defender’s reputation has taken a hit over the past few years. He’s now considered a player past his prime, or is he?

Through the first eight games of the current campaign, Karlsson is turning back the clock and looking like that Norris Trophy-version of himself. It’s giving the Penguins a boost as they start the year in impressive fashion, and it’s also giving the organization the chance to move him for valuable assets before the season ends.

Last year, Karlsson’s deal was an albatross on the Penguins’ salary cap situation. The Pens acquired him after his 101-point season with the San Jose Sharks, expecting him to be the final piece as the organization pursued one more Stanley Cup.

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Instead, he posted back-to-back 50+ point seasons in Pittsburgh. Impressive production, yes, but not to the level of his $10 million annual salary.

Now, that $10 million doesn’t feel that crazy for Karlsson. His deal expires after the 2026-2027 season, meaning it’s not a long-term commitment for any potential new team.

Hockey players celebrate goal score

Apr 8, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) congratulates defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) on his 200th career NHL goal against the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Through the first eight games, Karlsson looks electric for the Penguins. He hasn’t recorded a goal, but he has five assists, including two multi-point efforts already. He’s also averaging 20:32 minutes of ice time through the early portion of the season.

The dip in ice time is about three to four minutes less than his average over the last five seasons, but Penguins head coach Dan Muse may have figured out that a few less minutes is ideal for Karlsson at age 35.

The results have been easy to see. According to game data from MoneyPuck, the Penguins are dominating across all strengths when Karlsson and partner Parker Wortherspoon are on the ice. The Pens have scored 70% of the total goals while that duo is on the ice. That’s even more impressive than the expected goals percentage of 61%.

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What does every Stanley Cup hopeful covet as the season progresses? The answer is a right-handed defender that they can trust and deploy over huge minutes.

That’s exactly what Karlsson is. The Penguins could even retain a bit of salary to help facilitate a deal, further driving up the price and interest in the star defender.

The Penguins are surprising the NHL right now, collecting a record of 6-2-0 in their first eight contests. Despite the early success, this team is more than likely missing the postseason. Getting a sizable return for Karlsson would be the best move for the organization, and his play so far in 2025-2026 is leading the organization exactly to that result.

Make sure you bookmark Breakaway On SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!



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Pittsburg, PA

17-year-old accused in deadly Kansas shooting

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17-year-old accused in deadly Kansas shooting


CRAWFORD COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating another deadly shooting involving a Kansas teen.

Just before 9p.m. Friday, police along with first responder units from Pittsburg Fire Department and Crawford County EMS, were dispatched to a shooting at Schlanger Park, 725 E 6th Street in Pittsburg, according to a media release. First responders found that an adult male had been shot and had subsequently died as a result of his injuries.

The victim, who was identified as 18-year-old Adam Basauri, of Girard, was pronounced deceased at the scene. Basauri’s body was sent to Kansas City for an autopsy.

The scene was secured and investigators with the Pittsburg Police Department responded to assist with the investigation. Witnesses on scene advised the suspect had fled the scene in a vehicle. Witnesses were transported to the police department to be interviewed while the search for the suspect was ongoing.

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At approximately 9:46 p.m. the suspect and suspect’s vehicle were located in Arma, Kansas, by deputies with the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office.

The suspect, who was identified as a 17-year-old juvenile, was taken into custody and transported to the Pittsburg Police Department for questioning. The juvenile suspect’s vehicle was secured and towed to the Pittsburg Police Department to be processed.

After interviewing the witnesses’ investigators were able to determine that a brief altercation took place between Basauri and the juvenile suspect. During the altercation, the suspect shot Basauri.

As a result, the 17-year-old juvenile, of Pittsburg, was placed under arrest. Juvenile Intake responded and processed the juvenile suspect. The juvenile suspect was transported to the Southeast KS Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Girard. He is being held on a requested charge of murder in the second degree.



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Masontown Borough unanimously votes to reinstate police department

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Masontown Borough unanimously votes to reinstate police department


During an emergency meeting on Saturday night, Masontown borough council voted 6-0 to reinstate its police department after council initially voted on Monday to lay off the entire department, citing budgetary reasons as the leading factor for the decision.



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Pittsburgh Pirates Swap with A’s That Makes Sense For Both Clubs

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Pittsburgh Pirates Swap with A’s That Makes Sense For Both Clubs


The Pittsburgh Pirates could use some bats, and the A’s are still looking to add some pitching this winter, so how likely is it that these clubs come together on a deal?

According to Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates are still on the lookout for some help on the left side of the infield. Over at Roster Resource, their starters at short and third as listed as Nick Gonzales (82 wRC+ in 2025) and Jared Triolo (86).

While the A’s are having a little showdown of their own at third base this spring, they have a number of players in the mix. Perhaps they could move one of them in a deal with Pittsburgh in order to land a relief pitcher with some upside.

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The proposed deal that we have in mind is the A’s sending third baseman Brett Harris, who may be starting as the third option at the hot corner this spring. Harris has a tremendous glove at third, and statistically it appears to be at least on par with the glove what Triolo provided last season.

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In just 183 2/3 innings with the A’s in 2025, Harris put up a +5 DRS, and +2 in both OAA and FRV. Triolo, in roughly 80 extra innings finished with a +7 DRS and +4 in both OAA and FRV. Both players are solid defensively.

Triolo has had more experience in the big leagues, which does account for something, but if you’re the Pirates, do you consider making a change and taking a chance on a similar defender with more upside in the bat? Their current option hit .227 with a .311 OBP and an 86 wRC+ last season in 376 plate appearances. Harris could put together a double-digit home run season at the very least.

Harris played in just 32 games (84 plate appearances) and hit .274 with a .349 OBP and a 96 wRC+. While he certainly looked like an improved player over his initial stint in the big leagues with the A’s in 2024, there was also some luck involved in his improvement—mainly his .377 BABIP. The risk for the Pirates would be taking the chance on that bat being for real.

In exchange, the proposed piece that the Pirates would send back in 30-year-old Yohan Ramírez. The right-hander ranks in the 94th percentile in extension on top of sitting at 96.4 miles per hour with his heater, which is quite appealing. He also held a 5.40 ERA (3.80 FIP) last season, so he’s far from a finished product, and given his age, he’s a flier himself.

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This is the type of pitcher that the A’s have had success with in recent seasons—guys that can collect strikeouts but also tend to issue free passes. In 2025 with the Pirates, he struck out 29% of the batters he faced and walked 10.3%.

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There are two interesting tidbits in his profile that could cause a little worry. The first is that he’s bounced around quite a bit in recent seasons, including spending time with the Dodgers, Mets, Orioles and Red Sox in 2024. Those are all teams that love to pull extra value from guys, and if they all gave up on him, then that’s not the greatest track record.

All of those teams seemed to view him as a guy that could provide a few innings when their bullpens were gassed, which led to him having short stints with each club, totaling a 6.20 ERA (4.26 FIP) across 45 innings.

The other interesting piece here is that when he has been with the Pirates, in both 2025 and back in 2022, his velocity has ticked up considerably. In 2022, he also spent time with the Mariners, and he was sitting 94.2. But with Pittsburgh, that went up to 96.5. In 2024, he topped out at 95.3 mph with the O’s and Mets.

This past season he was back to 96.2 mph. Is there something special for him about pitching in Pittsburgh? Do their radar guns run a little hot? Is this more of a time of year situation that gets hammered out over longer stints (like with the Pirates)? It’s unclear.

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But if he’s truly a 96-mile-per-hour reliever that the A’s could add to their ‘pen, then this trade may be worth some heavy consideration.

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Of course, Ramírez is out of options which would make this a little tricky, and Harris has roughly double the amount of team control, so the value may have to be squared away by adding another piece or two to the ledger. But these two players, Harris and Ramírez, could do a lot of good for the opposite clubs.

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