Joined: Jan. 2017
Posts: 331
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The phrasing on the Karlsson trade condition is that if the Penguins' pick is in the top 10 Dubas can choose to defer the pick to 2025, not that he has to. Considering how fortunate they were with the health of their big 4 this year and the fact that the youngest of them is Karlsson who has a significant injury history and will be 34 before the season starts and the others will be 37,37, and 38, and they lost a guy who was a point per game player through 3/4 of the season this year, there's a decent chance next year they drop in the standings beyond where they are this year. If the pick is in the 8-10 range I feel like it would make sense for them to just give up this year's pick instead of waiting until next year and risking it being even earlier. On the other hand, deferring when they don't have to would be admitting they're expecting to do worse and that could be tough to do while Crosby's still there and playing well.