Maple Leafs Among Confirmed Frontrunners for Norris Trophy Winner Erik Karlsson

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in an interesting position as one of the only teams tabbed to be rebuilding and selling heading into the 2025-26 season.

There have been plenty of rumours regarding the future of Sidney Crosby, but another member of the team has been generating a lot of buzz in Erik Karlsson. He has also reportedly received a lot of attention from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The offensive defenseman has only 2 years remaining on his contract that carries a full-NMC at a cap hit of $10 million per season. He was acquired by the Penguins from the San Jose Sharks with some retention. However, things didn't pan out as they had hoped.

Now, with the Swedish star potentially on the move yet again, the Penguins are looking towards the future and Karlsson has been linked to the Maple Leafs, alongside Utah, Detroit, and Anaheim as the likeliest landing spots.

Any trade package involving the Leafs and Karlsson would have to include Morgan Rielly going the other way. In this case, it does help that Rielly and Penguins GM Kyle Dubas have a standing relationship, which could make things easier in terms of asking him to waive his NMC.

Considering their AAV's are only $2.5 million apart, we could see the Penguins retaining the difference between their contracts, especially when you factor in their current cap situation with $13 million available this year and a projected $53.2 million next summer. Another option would be to have the Pens also take on someone like Calle Jarnkrok.

Despite what many would consider down seasons for the Swedish defenseman, he totalled 56 points in 2023-24 and 53 points this past season. Adding the offensive-minded defenseman into the fold would give Toronto a very different look on their back-end that is already filled with big, rugged defenders.

Karlsson is also only a few years removed from his 101-point campaign, so there's definitely a lot left in the tank, and playing for a contender in Toronto could revitalize his career.