San Jose Sharks D Erik Karlsson had a historic season, scoring over 100 points as a defenseman and winning his third Norris Trophy in his career. Despite all his career accomplishments, none of them have been satisfying. Karlsson has expressed that he would like to play for a contender the rest of his career and chase a Stanley Cup title. Pierre LeBrun of TSN is reporting that three contending teams are interested in Karlsson: the Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes and Seattle Kraken.
So, now to unpack how this deal for each team even gets done. First of all, the Sharks are almost definitely retaining some salary in a deal, particularly one to a contender. Maybe the Kraken are able to swing the deal without needing to have San Jose take on salary. Karlsson has four years remaining on his deal with an average annual salary of $11.5 million.
We’ll start with Toronto, which is almost always in the news and rumor mill. Many media members and fans are speculating as to which player the Leafs should move on from. William Nylander has been a name in those conversations for what feels like a while now. He’s 27 years old and in the final year of his contract worth $6.9 million annually. Nylander would be a very appealing piece to expedite the Sharks rebuild. San Jose can also pay Nylander whatever he wants on an extension.
This will never happen but Auston Matthews needs a new deal and Mitch Marner has been referenced in rumors. A straight up trade for Karlsson seems nutty but could line up. Karlsson is 33 years old and could start to regress but he also just posted 101 points on a very bad Sharks team. The Maple Leafs desperately need help on the blue line, particularly someone who can move the puck and drive offense.
Let’s move onto the Hurricanes. One, they can definitely convince Karlsson to join them in Carolina. Former Sharks defenseman Brent Burns was a teammate with Karlsson for five seasons in San Jose and made a deep playoff run in 2019. Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jordan Staal are the only players signed past the next two seasons, so there’s a lot of flexibility with the roster. You’d guess Brett Pesce or Brady Skjei would need to go back the other way. Teuvo Teravainen, Seth Jarvis and Martin Necas are all on expiring deals heading into 2023-24. Some of those pieces can surely get a deal done for Karlsson.
And to the Kraken. Seattle has the best set of assets and cap space to make a move for Karlsson. It’s really whether or not Karlsson trusts the Kraken as true contenders for the Cup. In Seattle’s second season, the team advanced to the second round and nearly the Western Conference Final. The Kraken appear well positioned to maintain success and Karlsson could be the missing link to getting to the Cup. Seattle has a good mix of NHL forwards that could be enticing to San Jose in a rebuild.
