For the past few weeks, there have been suggestions that Pittsburgh and Carolina are the two front-runners to land Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson. However, the blueliner himself revealed to SportExpressen’s Adam Johansson that he has spoken to several other teams about the possibility of a swap. The two that he noted specifically were Seattle and Toronto while he acknowledged that there are a few others as well.
Karlsson has been in trade speculation dating back to before the trade deadline with San Jose squarely in a rebuild and the 33-year-old coming off a surprising career year. Last season, Karlsson became the first defenseman in more than three decades to surpass the 100-point mark, helping him take home his third career Norris Trophy.
In doing so, he presented the Sharks with an opportunity to trade his contract, a scenario that didn’t seem all that feasible just a year ago. Karlsson is on the richest deal for a blueliner in NHL history, one that still has four years remaining at a cap hit of $11.5MM. Even though it was a front-loaded pact, there is still nearly $40MM in total compensation owed to him. That’s a particularly notable figure as while there is an expectation that San Jose will need to retain some money, it isn’t going to come close to the maximum allowable of 50% as they’re not going to pay Karlsson nearly $20MM over the next four years not to play for them.
Of course, that also complicates things on the trade front as none of the Hurricanes, Penguins, Maple Leafs, or Kraken have anywhere near enough cap space to take Karlsson on outright. They will need the Sharks to retain a sizable piece while sending a significant salary offset or two to San Jose in order to make the money work. Clearly, it’s a process that is taking some time.
When asked by Johansson if he had a preferred destination, Karlsson declined to provide one, only saying that he knows what he and his family wants and that he hopes he gets that chance. Long citing his desire to land with a contender, wherever (and whenever) he goes, Karlsson should be landing with a team that’s much closer to playoff contention than San Jose currently is.
Maybe this is true, but my best guess is that the Pens are the only team really in on him and the other teams linked are/were tire kickers being floated by SJ to try to get more from Dubas.
Why?
The Pens are the only team that doesn’t have to care about the final years of his deal when it might look really ugly.
Will the Canes take that risk? Ron Francis? History says no way. Leafs can’t afford him unless they lose a core player.
His window lines up with ours, it’s the only fit that actually makes sense.
Listen. I love that you see the best in your team and want to fight for them. I love that you are thankful for everything Crosby, Malkin and Letang have done for the team, their fans, and the city. And that you passionately believe they deserve a competitive team around them until they choose to hang em up. But as an unbiased, non Pens hating, observer, there is no window. As presently constructed the Pens are a fringe playoff team that’s $2million over the cap. That doesn’t mean they have to tear it down this year, but they should not be mortgaging the future for this year. Go get Matt Dumba or TDA on a short deal. Pick up Ethan Bear on the cheap and hope he works out. I know they are not Karlsson, but the Pens would need to clear significant cap space just to get one of those guys. What they would need to do to get Karlsson makes no sense. I hate to be the one who has to break it to you, but there is not a way for the caps to build a cup contender in the next five years. They are already in a hole. It’s past time to quit digging.
You’re gonna be in misery for years, if they pickup Karlsson. They’ll be further emptying the consensus worst farm system in the league, hamstringing themselves salary cap wise, for four more years, and will have zilch to show for it, except a first round playoff exit, or two.
You’re sure giving Wilf a run for his money, for lamest poster here.
I’m gonna enjoy this. I’m laughing already.
Do you understand that even when the Pens were the best (one of the best) team in the league, we were still not likely to win? And more often than not, did not. So, even great teams are unlikely to win the Cup, should they give up?
And take a look at the VGK team that just won a Cup. It’s the weakest team since the 1995 Devils to do so and that NJ team would wipe the floor with these Knights. If Jarry plays well, I don’t see a huge gap between us and them.
But so be it, let’s say you do….what is the alternative?
UNLESS you are prepared to trade our core players (all of whom have NMC’s and signed here cheap to stay here) there is nothing of great value to trade and by keeping the core players, we won’t bottom out for a real rebuild.
Everyone wants to lock at a clock/calender instead of reality when they propose this “rebuild” that will serve to waste the remainder of HOF careers who deserve better AND WON’T WORK. We would end up with a bunch of #9 or #12 or #7 picks. How many teams have built their championship cores that way? I can’t think of one.
Sabotage with no upside.
By putting our best foot forward for a few more years, we honor our core stars and when the foundation crumbles, we’ll end up with top 5 picks that do build a true championship core.
Will I see Sid win another Cup? Statistically unlikely, but I will watch him play with enough good players on a good enough team to take their shot each year while he chases Jagr to finish #2 all time in points.
And when it’s done, we’ll have a chance to build YET ANOTHER core of HOF superstars instead of ending up like the Wild or Preds. endless spinning in the middle.
At the end of the day, the only people I need to understand this are FSG and they do.
Vegas was actually more than $7M over the cap using Stone for the LTIR capless playoff loophole, just like Tampa 2021, and Chicago 2015
(blinks) You’re pretty delusional if you think that FSG has the slightest bit of interest in emptying their wallets to turn the Pens into Cup contenders. Y’know, the same ownership group whose marquee team is going for its third last place finish in four years?
Now you’re right in one thing: that all those elderly players on expensive long term contracts with trade/movement protection sabotages a true rebuild. That was the huge mistake the team made last offseason, and the yinzers were cheerleading hard for it, and we all saw that it came to NOTHING.
So the answer is doubling down? Dude, the definition of “stupid” is to take something that doesn’t work and do more of it.
Exactly,
Everyone here knows more about the Pittsburgh Penguins than me (who watches every single Pens game) and the owners and the management of the team.
We’re just so very stupid.
I guess we’ll just have to hang our hats on the fact that we won 3 Cups in our window, not one, and that Morgan Geekie isn’t our 1C while we wallow in our stupidity…and still having draft picks over the next few years.
It’s not that the people with drive by opinions based on generic mindless conventional sports fans “wisdom” aren’t considering the actual implications of their half hearted advice. Or that the things they warned against turned out well and the things they advised instead would have been disastrous (hello, the let Letang walk and sign Klingberg folks). It’s none of that.
It’s that we’re very stupid.
Got it.
PS- I love the “your team will be bad, hahahaha” people. I know most people are bandwagon trash, but I don’t care if my team is bad. I lived through the Rico Fata era as happily as the Mario or Sid eras. And I promise my team has won more Cups than whoever it may concerns (unless you are super old and speak French, maybe).
It’s all good.
So, I appreciate all the sincere concern, I’ll be just fine.
Also, FSG is spending to the cap on the team and is paying top dollar to both it’s coach and GM, so not sure what you mean by that unless you are claiming because they don’t spend enough on the Red Sox it somehow negates the facts I just mentioned.
I would guess the Dunn signing now means the Kraken are out on Karlsson. Thank God.
Agree!!
Are they out? Or are they Dunn?
well played sir!
Seems like the best fit is one that will never get discussed; with the exodus of players asking out of Winnipeg and a decent young core (plus talent recouped in trading a Schiefle) that is the outpost where his services match up best. If Jets, Sharks & a third team lined up on a hellebuyck deal, SJ gets a Schmidt & Lambert or similar for taking on 35% of Karlsson’s salary & voila! But first you have to convince Karlsson to come to Winnipeg…
Sharks gave him the Brinks truck now let them keep him for the next 3 seasons or buy him out. 33yo & his first productive/great season in a few years. A team would he foolish to have him on their books for the next 4 seasons at $11.5mil per.
He really does not want Carolina just does not want to say. Reality team getting is all this year maybe next . Hope the cap goes up next couple years . They win . Still think he some how ends in either Pittsburgh or Toronto
It’s not even the price for Karlsson himself that prevents this from happening. Its the price of getting some salary retention. Dude won’t play for a contender, but he will be filthy rich when his deal expires. There’s nobody out there who can pay him that much and remain a contender, that’s how SJ ended up where they are in the first place.
When your captain and best player walks away in free agency simply because you can’t afford him, you know you’ve made some bad decisions. And the real shame of it is that when the megadeal is off the books and he can go take less to play where he wants, he will most likely be nothing more than a shadow of what he used to be, and unable to really contribute to a team with cup aspirations.
The Karlsson trade hasn’t happened because Mike Grier is a clueless GM, The Sharks simply want a kings ransom for the socalled defender and it’s not going to happen, The Sharks rebuild will be long and painful because of the Incompetent ownership and Doug Wilson given free reign to run the team into the ground, Grier will do the same because he’s clueless.