Pittsburgh Also Acquires Forwards Rem Pitlick and Dillon Hamaliuk, and a 2026 Third-Round Draft Pick
By Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired defenseman Erik Karlsson, forward Rem Pitlick, forward Dillon Hamaliuk and a 2026 third-round draft pick in a three-team trade involving the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens, it was announced today by President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas. Details of the trade are below:
- Pittsburgh acquires defenseman Erik Karlsson, forward Rem Pitlick, forward Dillon Hamaliuk and San Jose's 2026 third-round draft pick.
- San Jose acquires Pittsburgh's 2024 first-round draft pick (top-10 protected), forward Mikael Granlund, defenseman Jan Rutta and forward Mike Hoffman.
- Montreal acquires Pittsburgh's 2025 second-round draft pick, defenseman Jeff Petry, goaltender Casey DeSmith and forward Nathan Legare.
Karlsson is signed through the 2026-27 season and his contract carries an average annual value of $11.5 million. San Jose is retaining $1.5 million of his salary yearly. Pitlick is signed through the 2023-24 season and his contract carries an average annual value of $1.1 million. Hamaliuk's entry-level contract runs through the 2023-24 campaign and carries an average annual value of $789,167.
Karlsson, who won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman for the third time in his career in 2022-23 (2012 & '15), finished the season with 25 goals, 76 assists and 101 points in 82 games with San Jose. He became the sixth defenseman in NHL history, and first since Brian Leetch in 1991-92, to have a 100-point season. The 33-year old led all defensem*n in goals, assists and points, and finished 11th overall in the league in points and fourth in even-strength points with 74.
The seven-time NHL All Star has played 14 seasons in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators (2009-18) and San Jose (2018-23), accumulating 178 goals, 583 assists and 761 points in 920 career games. His 761 career points rank 22nd in NHL history among defensem*n, while his 0.83 points-per-game average is the eighth highest (min. 300 GP). The defenseman has hit the 20-goal mark three times in his career (2013-14, '14-15 & '22-23) and the 70-point plateau five times (2011-12, '13-14, '15-16, '16-17 & '22-23). Karlsson has also tallied eight goals, 45 assists and 53 points in 67 career playoff games.
Since entering the league in 2009-10, Karlsson leads all defensem*n in assists and points, and ranks second in goals behind only Brent Burns (210). Through his 14 NHL seasons, he has led the league in points among defensem*n on five different occasions (2011-12, '13-14, '14-15, '15-16 & '22-23). Karlsson has led his team in points by a defenseman in eight seasons (2010-11, '11-12, '13-14, '14-15, '15-16, '16-17, '17-18 & '22-23), and led his entire team in points five times (2013-14, '14-15, '15-16, '16-17 & '22-23).
The 6-foot, 190-pound defenseman has been a finalist for the Norris Trophy five times in his career (2012, '15, '16, '17 & '23). Only four defensem*n in NHL history have more Norris Trophies than Karlsson's three (Bobby Orr, 8; Nicklas Lidstrom, 7; Doug Harvey, 7; Ray Bourque, 5).
The Landsbro, Sweden native has represented his home country internationally at the World Under-18 Junior Championship (2008), World Junior Championship (2009), World Championship (2010 & '12) World Cup (2016) and Olympics (2014). He won a silver medal at the 2009 World Junior Championship and bronze at the '10 World Championship and '14 Olympics.
Karlsson was originally drafted in the first round (15th overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft by the Senators.
Pitlick, 26, spent the 2022-23 season split between the Montreal Canadiens and their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. In 46 NHL games, the forward recorded six goals, nine assists and 15 points. In 18 games with Laval, he tallied five goals, 17 assists and 22 points.
The 5-foot-11, 186-pound forward has played in 123 career NHL games since 2019, recording 21 goals, 33 assists and 54 points with Montreal, the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators. His best NHL season came in 2021-22 when he recorded career highs in goals (9), assists (17) and points (26) in 46 games with the Canadiens. He has also registered 33 goals, 35 assists and 68 points in 89 career AHL games with Laval, the Chicago Wolves and Milwaukee Admirals.
The Ottawa, Ontario native was originally drafted in the third round (76th overall) of the 2016 NHL draft by Nashville. Prior to turning professional, he played three seasons at the University of Minnesota from 2016-19 and two seasons in the United States Hockey League with the Waterloo Black Hawks and Muskegon Lumberjacks from 2014-16. He also attended Sidney Crosby's alma mater, Shattuck St. Mary's from 2011-14.
Hamaliuk, 22, spent the 2022-23 season with the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL, tallying four goals, three assists and seven points in six games. His first professional season came in 2021-22 with the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL, where he tallied three goals, six assists and nine points in 44 games.
The 6-foot-4, 201-pound forward played parts of five seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Seattle Thunderbirds and Kelowna Rockets from 2016-21. He tallied 48 goals, 62 assists and 110 points in 192 career junior games, and won the WHL Championship with the Thunderbirds in 2017.
The Leduc, Alberta native was originally drafted in the second round (55th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Sharks.
