Mark Madden's Hot Take: Erik Karlsson reached 200 goals and his expiration date with Penguins

Erik Karlsson scored his 200th career goal Tuesday night.

That’s pretty impressive given that Karlsson never got to play against himself.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have several players they would be well rid of at season’s end. But despite being a three-time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s best defenseman, Karlsson tops that list.

Dollar for dollar, Karlsson might be the Penguins’ worst player. He provides minimal value for an $11.5 million salary cap hit on a contract that has two more seasons to run.

Karlsson gets decent stats. His numbers are past their peak, but this year’s are solid: 11 goals and 42 assists in 79 games. (He’s also minus-26.)

But Karlsson doesn’t play winning hockey.

I’ve never before seen a surefire Hall of Famer so apparently unconcerned about winning.

Witness Chicago’s short-handed goal that opened the scoring in the Penguins’ 3-1 loss to the host Blackhawks last Sunday.

Karlsson got beat on a pinch, then clearly quit on the play as Chicago’s Frank Nazar got to the net for the finish.

Karlsson failed at both ends of the same goal. It’s hardly the first time that’s happened.

Karlsson never plays conservative. He doesn’t pay attention to score and situation. He’s got zero grit. He’s a point collector.

Karlsson just plays his way. It’s gotten him individual hardware but no rings or even a berth in the Stanley Cup Final.

Acquiring him before the 2023-24 season was a worthwhile gamble. That trade dumped dead weight, though Mikael Granlund has certainly since regrouped. It was an attempt to prop up the Penguins’ core three of Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin for one more playoff run.

But that attempt failed miserably.

Karlsson is no player to have on a team leaning toward youth and rebuilding. He’s the worst example possible.

President of hockey ops/GM Kyle Dubas has to ditch Karlsson this offseason, even if it means retaining a sizable chunk of his contract in a trade. I’m told that keeping as little as $3 million per might do the trick. Buying out Karlsson could be a last resort.

Karlsson and Letang are both offensive defensemen. While Letang isn’t having a great year, he’s tough, never cheats you for effort and knows when to play more defensively.

Having both Karlsson and Letang hasn’t worked. Letang, like always, has been a good soldier but doubtless feels like he’s on the back burner, especially given his prior success with the Penguins.

Here’s betting Letang would play better if Karlsson departed.

Letang is a Penguin. Karlsson never was a Penguin, not really. He plays for himself. It’s time to take away a jersey he never deserved to wear in the first place.