An expectedly hot trade market could soon see a rather Earth-shattering trade. Newly-crowned Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks has been on the trade block for quite some time, and he’s made it known he’d like to get dealt to a contender.
Now, we have some clarity on some teams EK65 could suit up for next season. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, and Seattle Kraken have reportedly initiated discussions with the Sharks regarding the possibility of acquiring the star defenseman, says Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. LeBrun also indicates, though, that Karlsson has not yet provided Sharks general manager Mike Grier with a list of preferred destinations, leaving the trade negotiations as an “open canvas.”
Karlsson boasts a massive $11.5MM cap hit through 2027 and has long been considered one of the most dynamic defensemen in the league. However, injuries had plagued the Swedish defenseman in recent seasons, dampening his on-ice impact. 2022-23 saw him shake off most of the rust, though, becoming the first defenseman to record 100 points in a season since Brian Leetch in 1991-92. Nevertheless, his defensive deficiencies combined with the concern for re-injury will likely involve the Sharks, and potentially a third party, retaining massive amounts of his salary.
The Maple Leafs are definitely the team who would need the most help via salary retention to get a deal done. They are slated to have around $14.75MM in cap space with defenseman Jake Muzzin headed for long-term injured reserve, but they need to fill at least five roster spots at forward and get a new contract signed for netminder Ilya Samsonov. A trade, however unlikely it may seem, could include T.J. Brodie, who’s locked in at a $5MM cap hit next season and is a UFA in 2024. Karlsson would essentially replace his spot in the lineup.
Few teams would complement Karlsson’s puck-moving style as well as Carolina. This is likely a fallback option for them if they can’t reach an extension with Brett Pesce, although it’s hard to imagine two players at further ends of the defense spectrum. One would have to wonder about the necessity of acquiring Karlsson for the ’Canes, though, as a former teammate of Karlsson’s, Brent Burns, is already under contract through 2025, and they’re still working on acquiring Anthony DeAngelo from the Philadelphia Flyers (which, legally, can’t be completed for another few weeks for cap circumvention purposes).
As for the Kraken, the budding franchise has apparently wasted no time in trying to solidify themselves as a championship contender after winning their first playoff series this spring. They’ve got a bevy of talented forwards and a true four-line attack, but their biggest roster hole lies with a second-pairing right-shot defenseman behind shutdown stalwart Adam Larsson. They do have the cap room to make it work – their only notable expenditure this offseason will be re-signing blueliner Vince Dunn, which could cost them around $7MM per season. It still would leave them with about $13MM in cap space and very few other roster holes to fill, making this a very doable task for the Kraken with 35-50% salary retention.
More to come…
I kinda preferred the radko gudas idea for the kraken, but surely EK wouldn’t hurt
No….. not for the Kraken! It was EK’s contact that forced the Sharks to get rid if Little Joe. Unless the Sharks eat half of EK’s contract, please keep him away from the Puget Sound!
Huge risk but nice suit!
@WilfPaiement – One thing that EK65 can’t be accused of is being a sloppy dresser. Always looks sharp. Wondering if the King was an influence there for him.
Please Ronnie, be patient. Sign Dunn. Promote Riker Evans. And see what you have on the backend before going after an old puckmover. Scoring goals is not the problem. Don’t chase and old and too often broken, point producer.
Totally agree, deal with what you have. Grubby’s contract is bad enough. We don’t need a contract that’s worse!! No EK!!
Almost safe to say he’s stuck in San Jose. That contract is a cap killer and if a team were able to trade for him, they’d impact too much to their core.
not if SJ retains 40 percent
The whole reason to trade him is that contract. And there’s still a few years on it as well.
the reason to trade him if you are SJ is to maximize a return for future assets. I’d they pay down 40-50% but net say a 1st, 2nd and a young player, why not do that? the sharks are 3-4 yrs from competing.
reality very few teams will even consider trading for him. Grier knows this. He will go to Karlsson these are your choices. Then Karlsson has choice to stay try to repeat this year or go .
Of course toronto is on the bidding they are with everyone…Karlsson will flop lucky to get 75 points next year..