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Loading…Erik Karlsson, a 36-year-old right-shot defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins, grades as a clear top-quartile defenseman with a 72.2 overall (64th of 327).
Offensive creation is where he wins, at 95, while defensive impact at 18 is the clear area to improve.
He surged from 78.1 in 2024-25 to 93.5 in 2025-26, one of the bigger jumps in his 17-season card history.
The contract, $10M through 2026-27, grades Fair: the model's expected value of $9.89M is within $105K of what he is paid.
His cap hit is the largest on the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL roster and uses 9.6% of the $104M ceiling; the club currently has $6.33M in cap space.
| Component | Rating (0-100) |
|---|---|
| Offense | 95 |
| Defense | 18 |
| Play driving | 63 |
| Finishing | 84 |
| Power play | 50 |
| Penalty kill | 45 |
| Season | Team | GP | Overall | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | PIT | 75 | 93.5 | 0.7 |
| 2024-25 | PIT | 82 | 78.1 | 0 |
| 2023-24 | PIT | 82 | 91.5 | 0.7 |
| 2022-23 | SJS | 82 | 89.3 | 1.3 |
| 2021-22 | SJS | 50 | 81.9 | 0.2 |
| 2020-21 | SJS | 52 | 57.6 | -0.5 |
| 2019-20 | SJS | 56 | 86.3 | 0.2 |
| 2018-19 | SJS | 53 | 87.7 | 0.4 |
| 2017-18 | OTT | 71 | 89.6 | 0.4 |
| 2016-17 | OTT | 77 | 96.6 | 0.8 |
Other PIT defensemen by rating: Kaedan Korczak (78.9), Samuel Girard (72.5), Ryan Johnson (71.7), Kris Letang (64.5). See the full Pittsburgh Penguins cap sheet.
How we rate players: each skater's overall is a percentile (0-100) built from offense, defense, play driving, finishing, power-play and penalty-kill impact against players at the same position; goalies are rated on goals saved above expected. Contract value compares the cap hit with the salary the model expects for that level of production, age and position. Figures are updated as new games and signings arrive.