Sharks’ Erik Karlsson Open to Trade – 4 Potential Landing Spots

Any decision that the San Jose Sharks make to trade Erik Karlsson would have to go through him. He holds a full no-trade clause and is under contract for four more years at $11.5 million AAV. That isn’t a small cap hit. A team will have to be ready to compete for a Stanley Cup within the next couple of years and have the space to acquire the elite defenceman or there isn’t a point.

Karlsson said, “I will never sway from that: I want to win. I think as you get older and you’ve been around for a longer time, you realize it’s not as easy as it looks and you gotta hit it at the right time.” He is 32 years old and appears to still have some great years left in him if he can stay healthy. Leading all NHL players in even strength points with 45 and ranking sixth in the league in points, Karlsson is looking like he’s worth every penny of his massive contract, but time will tell. For now, he would be an amazing addition to a team on the cusp and pushing for a Cup soon.

The Sharks’ defenceman also mentioned, “As long as you are somewhere where you believe in what they’re doing and you’re fully invested, I think that’s all you can ask for, is to have a legitimate chance and hope that it works out. So we’ll see what happens for me.” With that being said, here’s a few teams Karlsson could be headed to.

Buffalo Sabres

The biggest thing with the Buffalo Sabres is that they have a ton of cap space this season. Tage Thompson and Mattias Samuelsson will be making significantly more next season, but contracts like Kyle Okposo’s ($6 million AAV) and Zemgus Girgensons ($2.2 million AAV) will be coming off the books. The Sabres will also have to think about extensions for Rasmus Dahlin, Dylan Cozens, Owen Power, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and a few other young players in the next number of years too.

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There’s almost no scenario where the Sharks will be able to trade Karlsson without retaining some cap. They wouldn’t be opposed to it either since a rebuild has started and they won’t need the cap space for many years. Karlsson would fit right in perfectly into the top four of the Sabres as they don’t have enough right-shot defencemen as it is. Dahlin, Samuelsson, and Power shoot left and Karlsson would add a ton to an already very good offence. His trade value is difficult to pinpoint, but the Sabres are on the cusp of the playoffs this season and have more than enough prospects and assets to execute a trade.

Seattle Kraken

The Seattle Kraken have many mid-level forwards that are taking up a significant amount of cap space this season. In comparison to the talent level of their defence, they have too much sunk into their forwards. There isn’t much of a balance considering the Kraken have a very deep offensive group but allow a ton of goals. The plan may not have worked great in their first season, but things have sure turned around in year two.

Adding an elite defenceman like Karlsson is exactly what they need. They would have to make a decision on which forwards would have to be on the move though. The team has arguably too many and the Kraken are close to the cap with a little room to work with. A starting point in a return to move some cap would be Joonas Donskoi and Chris Driedger. The Sharks are familiar with Donskoi while they could use a goaltender next season with James Reimer also likely on the move. The Kraken would have to add more to the trade, but their defence really needs the punch and offence.

Columbus Blue Jackets

If the Columbus Blues Jackets acquire Karlsson, it won’t be this season. They are definitely in a good place to get a very high draft pick in the talented upcoming draft. But bringing in a top pick and Karlsson in the offseason would drastically turn things around. This season has been a story of injuries for the Blue Jackets and not indicative of the team’s potential.

They will be moving players and money out and have a span where they intend to become a contender. Johnny Gaudreau is signed for six more seasons while Patrik Laine is under contract for three more. The team has a lot of young talent and a need for an impactful defenceman to play the right side. A tandem of Zach Werenski and Karlsson could do some serious offensive damage from the blue line while the forwards are primed to continue to improve significantly. Karlsson may not move at the deadline, so don’t count out the Blue Jackets as a major player.

Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators are close to turning things around even though that has been said for a few years now. They have many of their core pieces in place, but bringing in even part of the cap hit of Karlsson could get tricky in keeping Alex DeBrincat around. He will likely get a pay raise right around the $8 million AAV mark like the others, which means there isn’t much room to add anyone else.

Karlsson is familiar with the Senators and didn’t choose to leave, he was traded. A reunion isn’t out of the question, even if it happens to come in the offseason if contract discussions go south with DeBrincat. The Senators are in desperate need of help on the right side, and a starting point would be Nikita Zaitsev as well as Travis Hamonic if a trade is pulled off before the deadline. General manager Pierre Dorian is basing the trade deadline strategy for this season off of what the team can do in the next six weeks. He said they could be buyers if they go on a little run.

I don’t believe the Sharks will be able to turn things around in the next four years and compete for a Stanley Cup. Karlsson’s talents would be wasted on a rebuilding team and he wants to win. All four of these teams mentioned above have the personnel to make a drastic impact in the next few seasons if Karlsson is added.