Pierre LeBrun reports that the San Jose Sharks and Erik Karlsson are on the same page.
Rumors of the San Jose Sharks trading star defenseman Erik Karlsson surfaced again on Monday.
Pierre LeBrun of TSN's Insider Trading reported that the team and EK65 would try to get a trade done.
"Both sides met last week, Karlsson's reps from Newport Sports and Sharks management. They came out of that meeting saying, 'Yes, let's try to get a trade done,'" LeBrun said. "Erik Karlsson wants to play for a contender and the Sharks are rebuilding and so they really have a unified vision on where this needs to go."
There is no guarantee that Karlsson will be traded, as he has a full no-movement clause on his contract. Karlsson is entering year five of his eight-year contract with a cap hit of $11.5 million AAV.
Coming off a career season of 101 points and a Norris Trophy nomination (and likely win), Karlsson is still missing one thing in his career—the Stanley Cup.
The San Jose Sharks are in rebuild mode for the next few seasons. Karlsson is 33, and based on this last season, he still has a lot left in the tank.
Due to his age, length of contract remaining, and big cap hit, the Sharks will most likely need to retain some salary for a trade to get done.
The Sharks are currently retaining salary of Brent Burns and Timo Meier, leaving them with one salary retainment spot available. Things do get slightly more flexible for GM Mike Grier as come July 1, Meier's salary retainment comes off the books.
The 2023 NHL Draft is June 28-29, and while an EK65 trade could happen there, I don't expect it to.
However, according to LeBrun, "A few teams already kicking tires the last few days."
The process of trading an NHL superstar like Erik Karlsson will take time for the San Jose Sharks to figure out. Grier must ensure he gets the correct value in return for his highest-value roster piece.