Norris Trophy winning defenseman Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks is on the trade block as the team continues its rebuild, and the sweepstakes is reportedly down to the Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins.

“I think it's Pittsburgh and Carolina,” Elliotte Friedman said on NHL Network, according to Sheng Peng of SJHockeyNow. “I think it's a bit of a poker game. Does anybody move? Anyone change? Anyone's position change?”

Friedman said he believes the Sharks know what the Penguins and Hurricanes would be willing to do for Erik Karlsson, and the Penguins and Hurricanes know what the Sharks would be willing to do to move Karlsson. He compared this negotiation to the Alex DeBrincat deal that sent him from the Ottawa Senators to the Detroit Red Wings.

“I think this will get done,” Friedman said on NHL Network, according to Peng. “Most likely to one of those two teams. I just think this is a situation right now where no one is 100% happy [with the deal]. We're not there. If we learned anything from DeBrincat, somebody has to be willing to move to change the whole pulse and where things stand.”

Basically, it will be up to one of the three teams making a significant change in what they are looking for in a deal, but it seems as if that will happen at some point, according to Friedman.

“So the question's going to be, who's willing to bend a little bit to get this done?” Friedman said on NHL Network, according to Peng.

The Hurricanes are a contender in the eastern conference, the Penguins missed the playoffs last season but have a core of veterans. Either way, it seems as if the Metropolitan division will get even stronger.