The Sharks have yet to trade Erik Karlsson, but the reigning Norris Trophy winner and his current team are keeping an open dialogue as the process continues.
In a recent interview with Adam Johansson of the Swedish newspaper Expressen, the defenseman said he has spoken with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, Seattle Kraken and Toronto Maple Leafs, among others, as he looks to play for a contender. Karlsson also told Johansson he doesn’t want to stay with San Jose for the duration of his contract, which has four seasons remaining.
“I like San Jose and I like it there, but I’ve never been able to win before,” Karlsson told Johansson. “I want that chance now that I’m at the end of my career. I have been open about that with [Sharks general manager] Mike [Grier] from the first day he started. He hasn’t had any problems with it.
“We understand each other, and we will do so regardless of what happens in the future.”
Karlsson said he doesn’t have a “chosen destination” when it comes to where he’s traded — he just wants a chance to play for the best team possible. He’s due $11.5 million per season over the next four years, making a deal between the Sharks and another team all the more complicated.
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6 Comments
$ 83.5 Million 😂
Glad I’m doing well myself, & I love ❤ sports
But, I wish they would pay Doctors 🥼 that kinda cash 💷
Just saying ☮️
Do you make regular request videos ?
Interesting analysis of the Swedish dimension to the argument for Karlsson's future. Unfortunately for Sharks fans, this means that a top insider (EK) is saying that the Sharks have no chance of winning the Stanley Cup in the next 4 years. Karlsson wants his name on the Stanley Cup to crown his career and make his name "eternal" in the hockey world/among the hockey gods. What's with Karlsson's T-shirt in that Golden Puck award photo?
Note Karlsson's status allows him the unusual choice to pick which team is most likely to win the Stanley Cup in the next 4 years and has room for him under their salary cap. His hockey IQ are not slowing the transaction or trade, it is the play among teams to see who can use Karlsson's discounted contract to better circumvent the hard salary cap with tricks by salary retention, other teams involved, and any dodge possible. The NHL should insist on teams respecting the hard limit of the salary cap rather than using buy outs, injuries, and selling each bad contracts or dumping players who have one bad day (like the Joker and Alex Galchenyuk). Salary escrow, and collective agreement procedures, and many aspects of salary cap circumvention should be discussed by the NHL because it is not playing fair but cheating in which the owners spend more, players get more, sophistry prevails, and someone else pays for these bad contract decisions than management. The people responsible escape their responsibility and so don't get fired for such mistakes enough.
Actual hockey ability and entertainment value of each player is being overshadowed by bad contracts and management that keeps getting second chances to cheat players and fans. Erik Karlsson is right to point out that the salary cap is not increasing as fast as expected, but it is now the case that there are always some of the 14 stars making over $10 million US per season (in 2022-23) salary alone are not worth that proportion of the team salary pool some of the time or drop off or out as they get old and injured like Carey Price or John Tavares, Huberdeau, or Doughty. This explains why Sidney Crosby's leadership in taking much less salary to preserve the salary balance among players on the team shows more wisdom than just going for as much as you individually can. Jack Eichel is supposed to be the first $10 million plus player to ever win the Stanley Cup in 2023. So maybe the more plus $10 million players on any team, the more unlikely that team will win the Cup because the role players will not be as good or as well paid as the small core of overpaid stars. Thus the greedy players will not win against the less greedy players who leave more for other team members and raise the team morale by such solidarity.
he has made that contract moveable, so that is something sharks should be very happy about. if they can make a trade work is a different question.
Maple leafs need to trade Riley and get karlsson somehow. Then trade Matthews,for everything you need and more. Still got four stars .
What I don't understand…
If he wants to be traded (which is totally understandable), why would he make it public? Doesn't that make it harder for the Sharks to get the best return possible, resulting in him being less likely to be traded quickly?
I think he'll have the most value toward the trade deadline, as that's when contenders will know they're contenders.