After several weeks of speculation including reports of interest with Montreal and Ottawa, Erik Karlsson found his footing on Monday, re-signing with the San Jose Sharks on an eight-year contract extension.
The agreement came into play just three hours following a report from TSN where Bob McKenzie indicated that all signs were pointing towards a new deal between the two sides being completed.
In addition to that, he noted that it would take the most prominent name off the 2019 UFA board, meanwhile, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic Toronto was next to join in on the fun. To that point, he made mention of the fact that in similarity to McKenzie’s report, it was in fact a done deal at that time with the expectation of a maximum eight years.
As LeBrun added on, he would receive $11M per season, the Sharks making a rather hefty commitment to keep the superstar defensemen from hitting the market. Not only that, but LeBrun also mentioned that resulting from the deal, the Ottawa Senators would be receiving a 2021 second-round pick from the San Jose Sharks. This was then re-iterated by Ian Mendes of TSN Radio 1200 Ottawa.
McKenzie then added fuel to the fire, noting that his deal matched up to Drew Doughty, another superstar defensemen being paid in similar range by the Los Angeles Kings. However, this wouldn’t be all as McKenzie chimed in again, noting that expectation was for the Swedish defensemen to receive an annual average value of $11.5 million.
This was then followed by a club announcement to officially confirm the transaction while Karlsson himself was then filmed by the media team to share the following message with the Sharks Territory faithful, “Hey everyone, just wanted to tell you how excited I am to be part of this organization for the upcoming eight years, and I want to thank everybody from the fans to the staff to this entire organization, especially my teammates, for all the support, you know, for the year that I’ve been here so far, and, you know, that played a big part in my ultimate decision to, you know, be apart of the Sharks family for a very long time so thank you all.”
Karlsson, a Landsbro, Sweden native, was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st after having completed a seven-year deal worth $45.5 million between the Senators and Sharks. Karlsson, 29, was originally selected by the Ottawa Senators in the first round (15th overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
Prior to joining the Sharks in a trade that sent Chris Tierney, Dylan DeMelo, Josh Norris, Rūdolfs Balcers and three picks to the nation’s capital, the European defensemen spent nine seasons with the Senators before being traded in a four-for-two deal. The agreement came to fruition back on September 13th of 2018.
Karlsson, a six-time All-Star in 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, is headed into his second season on the Northern end of California after having compiled three goals and 42 assists, making for 45 points in 53 games played.
In taking a quick look now at his 2018-2019 regular season, the ten-year veteran of the National Hockey League, scored three goals and 42 assists, making for 45 points in 53 games played. He also added two goals and 14 assists, making for 16 points in 19 games played through the Stanley Cup playoffs.
As for the entirety of his ten-year tenure at the NHL level, Karlsson has scored 129 goals and 434 assists, making for 563 points in 680 career NHL games played. In addition to that, Karlsson has been named a silver medal recipient at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, meanwhile, he led all defensemen at the games in points while tied for first among the tournament with Phil Kessel. Karlsson, a two-time Norris Trophy winner, was also named the IIHF Best Defensemen at the Winter Games for his remarkable performance.
In taking a deeper look at Karlsson who originally hails from Southern Sweden, the right-handed shooter has represented Team Sweden at four World Championships and is both a silver and bronze medal recipient. He also took part in the World Junior Championships on two separate occasions with Team Sweden as well. On the international stage, he won a silver medal back in 2009, a medal in which he received while playing alongside opponent and defensemen Victor Headman.
Speaking of big moments during his time representing Team Sweden, Karlsson set a new Swedish record in 2015-16 for most points in a single season by a Swedish defensemen with 82. This feat was previously held by NHL veteran and HOF’er Nicklas Lidström. Karlsson also played for Team Sweden in 2010, earning a bronze medal for his performance before heading off to take part in the Olympics.
In a statement from Erik Karlsson, speaking about the deal upon completion, he said, “This was a big decision for me. Ultimately at the end of the day, I know it’s the right one for me, my family and this organization as well. I’m very happy with how everything happened and that they didn’t force me into making a decision earlier than this.”
When speaking about the commitment he’s made and about the roster established by the Sharks, Karlsson said when asked about their chances going into the 2019-20 season, “We’re going to have a great chance at winning the Cup not only next year but for a lot of years moving forward. That’s always going to be our mindset. … We had a great run this year but we didn’t make it all the way. That’s not what we set out to do.”
As for general manager Doug Wilson when speaking about the groin injury Karlsson suffered in the playoffs, he said, “We’re extremely comfortable. It’s fixed. It will be 100% come September and he’s putting in the work for that. That’s one of the great advantages to having the knowledge you go through the process to make this decision. It would have been more difficult for us if we were on the outside and never knew the player and you have the unknown factors in this.”
The Sharks most recently played in the Western Conference Final series against the Blues where Karlsson contributed two goals and 14 assists, making for 16 points registered in 19 games played. Amongst the goals, he netted the overtime winner in game three at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
As noted by CapFriendly, Karlsson will receive $3.5 million in 2019-20 which is in addition to an $11 million signing bonus which he will receive for his new contract as well. In 2020-21, Karlsson will make $2 million while the following year, he will earn a base salary of $5.5 million. In 2022-23, Karlsson will make $2 million while in the fifth year of the deal, he will receive $10.5 million to balance things out. In 2024-25, Karlsson will receive $10 million while in 2025-26, he will earn a base salary of $4 million. In the final year of the deal, he will receive $1.5 million to bring things to a close.
With this deal now under wraps, Karlsson becomes the first player to sign with the Sharks following the conclusion of the postseason which has since seen Justin Braun traded to the Flyers in exchange for a 2019 second- and third-round draft picks. Karlsson’s deal will include a full no-movement clause from the beginning of the season through 2027 as the veteran defensemen is scheduled to make a total base salary of $92 million.