The San Jose Sharks’ season has come to an end, and with it all eyes now turn to their stable of unrestricted free agents. Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton have both indicated that they would like to return to the team if possible, while Gustav Nyquist could also be retained if he made a strong enough impact on GM Doug Wilson. But the name everyone is talking about is Erik Karlsson, who is poised to be one of the very top free agents in the class if he decides to take his talents to the open market on July 1. Today, Karlsson tweeted a thank you to the San Jose organization and city, which immediately threw hockey fans all over the world into a frenzy speculating on what it means.
As fans try to decipher what Karlsson meant, Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription required) takes a more level-headed approach to his speculation and examines how the Tampa Bay Lightning could potentially fit the superstar into their locker room. Most notably, Karlsson is good friends with Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman and has expressed an interest in playing with his old junior teammate in the past. That of course would require plenty of salary cap surgery from the Lightning, who have their own financial issues coming with the pending contract for RFA Brayden Point.
So if not San Jose or Tampa Bay, where? The New York Rangers have been suggested, given their ample cap space and Karlsson’s relationship with goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers are starting to turn the corner on their rebuild and are about to add another top talent with the second-overall pick. A player like Karlsson could perhaps turn them into playoff contenders as early as 2019-20 if they chose to pursue him.
It’s not like his next contract won’t come with risk however. Karlsson has battled several lower-body injuries over the last few seasons and was forced out of the playoffs recently, which some believe will have an impact on his earning potential this summer. He’ll turn 29 in a week’s time, and has a lot of miles on his body already from a career that has seen him log more than 23 minutes a night in all but his rookie season. He played just 53 games for the Sharks during the regular season, though he still recorded 45 points in that time and was a possession monster.
So where will Karlsson end up? Will the Sharks decide he’s too good to let walk into free agency and offer him the Drew Doughty-like long-term contract he was looking for last summer? Or does he take his talents to the east coast and play with one of his national team friends? Does another team—perhaps the Vegas Golden Knights, who have pursued him heavily in the past—knock on his door when the interview period opens in a month’s time? Cast your vote below and make sure to leave a comment!
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Rangers will match the Sharks Offer and Others but he goes to the Rangers,Closer to Home
Nill gets his man
The only way he doesn’t go to the Rangers is if they sign Panarin.
Buffalo offers him a huge contract
think he goes to tampa
I hope he doesn’t come to the Rangers, I would rather have Panarin, or better yet, plug holes with short term deals for capable NHL’ers and let the kids play their way into the lineup. When the Rangers are in striking distance of a strong playoff push, then I am game for whatever top talents are available.
Would love to see him on the Devils
Who cares! Misses half the season. Is on the ice for twice the opposition goals. Biggest mistake of Doug Wilson’s career. NOT A WINNER
No Money to spend in Tampa
Closer to home??? You act like he’s from Newark, Sweden is still very far from NY.
Vegas because Vegas.
I wouldn’t be shocked if he goes to the Florida Panthers.
MMU id love to know what your smoking!!! They don’t need him I’d rather Florida get a #1 goalie like Bob and they’ll make the playoffs for sure. They’ve had awful first half’s and had to go on huge second half’s to get in or even close it’s all about a healthy #1 goalie and first 41 games!
As a Ranger fan I’m not interested in Karlsson. By the time the rest of the team is ready he will be well past his prime.
“Buffalo offers him a huge contract” C’mon, @pawtucket! Buffalo would have to offer TWO huge contracts, and back braces for having to carry Ristolainen. The injury-riddled career is not good for long-term deals, so somebody would have to have a big-time front-loader and *hope* for the best. When he’s good, he’s really good, but when some injury bug bites him, he’s a mess on skates. The Vegas idea is OK, except for the fact they have to dump salary like crazy this summer, so their situation is up in the air. @terps may very well be right, as it doesn’t look like a good move by Doug Wilson on this one, even though it looked good on paper at the outset. So, where does he go? Not back to the Canadian Tire Centre Tire Fire, that’s for damn sure. After that, it’s a bit of a crap shoot now.
The Habs.. Montréal will be a good fit .. very fast forwards in news of offensive defenseman ..