Karlsson says the recent media talk about him returning to Ottawa is "not something that I really look into or worry too much about."
Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Erik Karlsson doesn't put much stock in the media's "What if" scenarios emanating from north of the border. Earlier this week, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman got tongues wagging when he, once again, pondered the notion of Karlsson returning to Ottawa in a possible trade this summer.
"If there's one team that you would think would consider it, it would be (Ottawa), with Daniel Alfredson there," Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts podcast. "Ottawa, I think, did a lot of groundwork, had a lot of conversations, not only about, you know, they made some subtractions, but I also think they want to add people who are going to make them better right away.
"Ever since I wrote that about the possibility, just in my head, of Karlsson going back, there's been a lot of feedback to me about people who think it would be a good idea and people who think it wouldn't be a good idea."
Whether it's a good idea or not, Karlsson was asked about all the trade jabber. He thinks the talk is just a product of the media needing to fill air time.
"Yeah, that's Canada for you," Karlsson told Nick Horwat of The Hockey News. "I played there for a long time, so I kind of know how that game works. "They got a lot of things to talk about every day, because they got a lot of air time, but very few things to actually discuss. So, they like to make up these "what if" scenarios.
"That's just the way it is, and it's not something that I really look into or worry about."
Karlsson has three years left on his deal with a cap hit of $11.5 million a season. Pittsburgh pays him $10 million a year, with San Jose handling $1.5 million, as terms of last year's trade. If the Pens are thinking about starting a rebuild, moving Karlsson would make perfect sense, just as it did for Ottawa when they started theirs in 2018.
Karlsson is the reigning Norris Trophy winner but won't be in consideration for the award this year. After posting 101 points in San Jose last year, the highest point total by an NHL defenceman in over 30 years, he has just 44 points in Pittsburgh this year. 13 defenceman in the league have more than that.
It may simply be an off year, or it may be a sign of decline due to age – a trend that eventually comes for everyone. Karlsson turns 34 in May.
That's the aging process for you.