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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

Judge calls Pittsburgh crash death ‘textbook example’ of why DUI is illegal

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Judge calls Pittsburgh crash death ‘textbook example’ of why DUI is illegal


No one showed up in court for either side.

Not for the victim, a 33-year-old immigrant killed in Pittsburgh last year by a drunken driver.

And not for the defendant, a 22-year-old woman who created a good life for herself and her twin sons despite a string of difficult life circumstances, including an incarcerated father and a mother with mental illness.

Maria Davis, of Uniontown, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault and driving under the influence after police say she crossed the center line on Beechwood Boulevard last year, crashing head-on into Abdulaziz Sharibbaev and killing him.

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Sharibbaev lived in Pittsburgh’s Westwood section at the time of his death. Law enforcement could not confirm where he emigrated from and were unable to reach any relatives for the court proceedings.

As part of a plea agreement, Davis will serve 16 to 32 months in custody to be followed by two years probation. Her attorney asked the court to allow his client to enter an alternative housing program, which the judge said she will consider after Davis has served at least 12 months.

She must also pay $3,500 in mandatory fines.

Davis was driving a black Hyundai sedan north on Beechwood Boulevard toward Squirrel Hill around 12:30 a.m. on March 11 when she crossed the center line and struck a silver Toyota Prius head-on, according to a criminal complaint.

Sharibbaev, who was driving the Prius, had to be extricated by medics.

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He died from his injuries five days later.

Both Davis and a passenger in her car were taken to local hospitals. The passenger sustained facial injuries and fractures from being thrown into the windshield.

A blood test showed Davis had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.163% — more than twice the legal limit for driving of 0.08%.

She also had marijuana in her blood, police said.

Birthday celebration

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Defense attorney Adam Bishop told Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Simquita R. Bridges that his client had been raised primarily by her great-grandmother after her father was incarcerated and her mother could not care for her.

After her great-grandmother became ill, Davis had to return to live with her mother at age 14, Bishop continued. Three years later, she moved out.

Davis had no prior criminal history and worked as a certified nursing assistant at a facility in Uniontown, Bishop said.

The night of the crash, she and friends were going out to celebrate her birthday.

Davis had gotten a babysitter, drove to Pittsburgh and attended a baby shower that day before checking in to a hotel room.

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At the shower, Davis had a shot of tequila and shared a glass of wine, Bishop said. Then, when Davis returned to the hotel to get ready for her night out, she had a couple more shots.

Davis and her friend arrived at a bar called Eon in Homestead and were waiting outside in line for more than 90 minutes when a fight broke out, Bishop said.

One of the men involved made threats, Bishop told the judge, and fearing he would return with a gun, Davis and her friends left.

Although she had not planned to drive any more that night, Davis got in her car to follow another friend to a bar in Greenfield, the attorney said.

The two vehicles got separated in traffic, Bishop said, and the friend texted Davis the address for the bar.

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She was trying to type the address into the GPS on her phone when she crossed the center line and crashed, according to Bishop.

“It was that act of distracted driving, in conjunction with her intoxication,” Bishop said, that caused the crash.

Bishop described Davis as extremely remorseful and said she accepts full responsibility for her actions.

“She got dealt some bad cards in life,” Bishop said, but still managed to make a good life for her sons, who will turn 2 next month.

“One night can change everything,” he said.

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A ‘poor decision’

No one was in court to describe the impact of Sharibbaev’s death.

Davis told the judge she is sincerely sorry.

“I would never purposely hurt somebody,” she said. “I ask that his family accept my apology. For as long as I live, I hope they can forgive me at some point.”

Davis told the court she is trying to learn from what happened.

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“I tried all my life to be a good person and stay on the right path,” she said. “This night, I just made a poor decision.”

But Assistant District Attorney Jameson Rohrer said it wasn’t just one bad choice.

“This was a series of decisions that (ended) a man’s life and permanently changed the lives of the defendant and her children,” he said.

Bridges agreed.

“You are a textbook example of why drinking and driving is illegal,” the judge said. “Good people sometimes make bad choices. That doesn’t make you a bad person.

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“Your life isn’t over because of this. You can pick yourself up and move on.”



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Man’s body found underneath trailer behind former Shop ‘n Save in Carrick

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Man’s body found underneath trailer behind former Shop ‘n Save in Carrick



Pittsburgh Police detectives are investigating after a man’s body was found underneath a trailer behind the former Shop ‘n Save store in the city’s Carrick neighborhood.

Pittsburgh Public Safety said late Monday night that detectives from the Violent Crime division responded to the area of Amanda Street and Wynoka Street in Carrick after a man’s body was found around 8:30 p.m.

Public Safety said the man’s body was found underneath a trailer and that he was pronounced dead by medics at the scene.

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Pittsburgh Police detectives are investigating after a man’s body was found underneath a trailer in the city’s Carrick neighborhood on Monday night.

Pittsburgh Public Safety


A photo provided by Pittsburgh Public Safety shows officers surrounding a taped off area and what appears to be a refrigerated trailer parked at the loading dock along Amanda Street behind the former Brownsville Shop n’ Save, which closed its doors last month

No details surrounding the circumstances of the man’s death were provided by Public Safety, who said that the cause and the manner of the man’s death will be determined by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.

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The man’s identity has not been released.

Public Safety said the investigation into the man’s death is “ongoing.”



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Record number of peregrine falcons counted in Allegheny County

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Record number of peregrine falcons counted in Allegheny County



In the early 1960s, the peregrine falcon population declined so sharply that the raptors weren’t even nesting in Pennsylvania. But now, the National Aviary says a record number have been counted in Allegheny County.

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The National Aviary says six peregrine falcons were recorded in the county during the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. The nation’s longest-running citizen science project collects data on bird populations for ornithologists, the aviary says. It also plays a role in guiding conservation action, like what was needed to bring peregrine falcons back from the brink of extinction. 

Because of the use of DDT, peregrine falcons were no longer nesting in the state of Pennsylvania by the early 1960s, the aviary said. But after the harmful pesticide, which negatively affects reproduction rates in birds, was banned in 1972, conservation efforts have helped the peregrine falcon rebound. It was removed from the federal endangered species list in 1999 and Pennsylvania’s list in 2021. 

The record number of peregrine falcons in Allegheny County is thanks in part to the nest on top of Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning in Oakland. For the past two years, biologists with the Pennsylvania Game Commission have banded chicks born in the nest. Three were banded last year, and two the year before that. 

People can watch Carla and Ecco raise their family in the nest on a livestream camera run by the National Aviary. Carla laid her first egg of the breeding season on March 16 last year, so the aviary says the start of another season isn’t too far away. 

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