NHL Rumours: Karlsson Leaving Penguins, Gavrikov Unhappy & Toews Rejoining Blackhawks

In today’s NHL rumour rundown, we start off with Erik Karlsson and the possibility of him being traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins as he enters the final year of his contract. Next, we look at Vladislav Gavrikov and his uncertain future with the New York Rangers.

Finally, the Chicago Blackhawks have an open offer to Jonathan Toews to rejoin the club to officially retire as a Blackhawk.

Karlsson Unlikely to be Extended by Penguins

After an excellent season in 2025-26, there were reports that Kyle Dubas and the Penguins had no intention of moving Karlsson this offseason. As the club took a huge step forward and made the playoffs, they are still putting their efforts into improving the team on the fly, rather than rebuilding like they probably should have.

It seems to be working, though. With a new group of younger players led by players like Ben Kindel, Egor Chinakhov, Tommy Novak, Nick Robertson, and even Sam Girard, they look like a team that is amidst a proper re-tool, and it seems to be going well.

Karlsson is in the final year of his eight-year deal, and he takes up $10 million against their cap. They have a lot of work to do before next offseason with their expiring contracts, but Karlsson may not be a part of their future plans.

Josh Yohe of The Athletic stated, “I’d be surprised if they give Karlsson a new deal after this season, despite his brilliance.” (from Penguins mailbag: Kyle Dubas’ plan, Erik Karlsson’s future and the Jason Robertson sweepstakes, The Athletic, July 20, 2026)

He continued his thought by adding that if the Penguins are competitive this season, he would expect them to keep him past the trade deadline, but let him walk to free agency. If they are on the outside looking in, they could move him during the season.

In response to that statement from Yohe, RG’s Jimmy Murphy shared that he could see the Toronto Maple Leafs or Ottawa Senators looking to bring Karlsson in before the start of the season.

The Maple Leafs could have been a sensible destination for Karlsson, but after bringing in Darren Raddysh, it would be a bit redundant.

For the Senators, they could make sense, even without the nostalgia factor. Of course, he is one of the greatest Senators ever, but they have been reportedly looking to upgrade their right side, and a player like Karlsson could complement Jake Sanderson’s game very well.

Gavrikov May Look to Leave Rangers

When a team is losing a lot of hockey games, it can be hard on some of the players. After leaving the Los Angeles Kings, Gavrikov joined the Rangers with the hopes of playing competitive hockey in one of the biggest NHL markets.

Since joining the team, Gavrikov and the Rangers haven’t been able to turn things around. There have been a lot of changes with the team, including the departures of Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and quite a bit of their depth.

The Rangers haven’t just been sellers, though.

They brought in Pavel Dorofeyev, Marcus Pettersson, and Sean Durzi to help the club, as well as replacing some of their depth. Looking into the 2026-27 season, the Rangers don’t look poised to take a big step forward after their 30th-place finish this past season.

As Gavrikov enters just the second year of his deal, he may already be unhappy with the way things are going. On the Rangers Recon podcast, Arthur Staple stated, “There are still whispers that Gavrikov is not super happy with the direction of the Rangers…If things go bad, is he going to be a guy in Drury’s office saying ‘I think I’d like to go somewhere else’?”

If the Rangers were to move Gavrikov, there would be a long lineup of teams looking to acquire his services. While he didn’t have a strong season himself, he had a great stretch of play with the Kings, which earned him his $49 million contract with the Rangers.

He has a lot of term left, makes a reasonable salary, and is a left-shot defenseman with high defensive impacts. If he requests a trade, it shouldn’t be too difficult for Chris Drury to bring back a good return.

Toews Welcomed to Sign One-Day Deal to Retire in Chicago

After the return of Patrick Kane, general manager Kyle Davidson spoke to the media and, among many other questions, was asked about Toews. He stated that the club would love to have him back, just as they did with Marian Hossa.

Toews departed the Blackhawks in 2022-23, and after a two-year hiatus to deal with some chronic health concerns, joined the Winnipeg Jets. He played one season for his hometown team, and then announced his retirement.

It is quite common for a player to rejoin a team they spent so much time with and had so much success with to retire as a part of that team officially. While it is a ceremonial move, it is important for many players, teams, and their fanbase.

The Penguins had goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury join the club on a one-day professional tryout, and he played in part of a preseason game.

Now that Kane is back with the Blackhawks, one thing that many fans would like to see, both in Chicago and across hockey fandom, would be for Showtime and Captain Serious to line up alongside each other one more time in preseason action to cap off his career.