The Penguins struck gold last year with Parker Wotherspoon. They found an analytical darling who wasn’t given much of an opportunity and turned him into a first-pair defender. They tried to recreate that magic this year with Declan Carlile.
It seems like it was a swing and a miss, as Carlile has been putrid over the last five games. His mistakes are loud and far too often result in a goal against. We saw that against Colorado on Friday. They cannot keep him tethered to Karlsson, or the team will be down bad for DuPont in no time.
There is a way to fix this issue. Simon Edvinsson remains unsigned, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that he would prefer a trade out of Detroit. I’m sure a young Edvinsson looked up to Erik Karlsson, and now they could be defensive partners. It makes almost too much sense.
Of course, Detroit insists it has no interest in trading Edvinsson, but that shouldn’t stop Dubas from asking. The Penguins could beef up their defense and potentially free up the logjam at forward as part of a deal. Dubas has been desperate to bring in some more youth, and Edvinsson would accomplish that goal.
Simon would also be unique to the Penguins because of his size. The Penguins’ blue line is relatively small, and the 6-foot-6 Edvinsson would help fix that issue.
The thing that makes Edvinsson such a smart acquisition is that it would take Declan Carlile off the top pair. Maybe Carlile will blossom in a lesser role, but I think I’ve lost faith in him finding his game alongside Erik Karlsson.
What do you think the Penguins should do with Carlile? Should the Penguins also be pursuing Simon Edvinsson?
