The Pittsburgh Penguins’ first-round pick in this year’s draft was formally transferred to the San Jose Sharks on Monday as a condition of August’s blockbuster trade that brought superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson to Pittsburgh.
With the NHL’s draft lottery taking place Tuesday, the Penguins’ pick remained the 14th overall.
Conditions of the trade provided protection to the Penguins, allowing them to keep the pick if it had risen within the top 10 selections and instead giving them the option of dealing their first-round pick in 2025 to the Sharks.
On Aug. 7, the Penguins acquired Karlsson in one of the largest trades in NHL history between the Sharks and Montreal Canadiens that involved nine players and three draft picks as well as $34,478,334 of potential salary cap hits.
Karlsson appeared in all 82 games during the 2023-24 season and was tied for third on the team in scoring with 56 points (11 goals, 45 assists) while averaging 24 minutes, 16 seconds of ice time per contest.
The Penguins still can land a pick in the first round, however, as a condition of another major trade that sent All-Star forward Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes on March 7.
Per conditions of that transaction, if the Hurricanes reach the Stanley Cup Final, their first-round pick (which would be the 31st or 32nd overall), would be transferred to the Penguins.
If the Hurricanes fail to reach the final, the Penguins will wind up with a second-round selection (expected to be No. 44 overall) that originally belonged to the Philadelphia Flyers and was acquired by the Hurricanes in a 2022 trade.
Entering Tuesday, the Hurricanes trailed the New York Rangers in a best-of-seven second-round series, 1-0.
The NHL’s draft is scheduled to be held June 28-29 in Las Vegas at the Sphere entertainment venue. Boston University forward Macklin Celebrini is expected to be the top overall selection.
As a result of Tuesday’s lottery, the Sharks wound up with the first overall pick.
The order of the lottery selections that were determined Tuesday:
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1.) San Jose Sharks
2.) Chicago Blackhawks
3.) Anaheim Ducks
4.) Columbus Blue Jackets
5.) Montreal Canadiens
6.) Unnamed Utah franchise
7.) Ottawa Senators
8.) Seattle Kraken
9.) Calgary Flames
10.) New Jersey Devils
11.) Buffalo Sabres
12.) Philadelphia Flyers
13.) Minnesota Wild
14.) San Jose Sharks (from Pittsburgh Penguins)
15.) Detroit Red Wings
16.) St. Louis Blues
(Note: The unnamed Utah franchise is composed of players and other hockey assets from the now inactive Arizona Coyotes franchise and is scheduled to begin play — presumably with a name — in the 2024-25 season.)
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.