San Jose Sharks Rumors: An Historic Trade In The Offing This Summer

It's not often that a player has a chance to hear his name called on NHL Awards night, and then get a call shortly afterwards that he's been traded. But that could be the case for San Jose Sharks All-Star Erik Karlsson this summer. 

After a sensational 100-point season (the first by an NHL defenseman in over 30 years), Karlsson is the odds-on favorite to take home the Norris Trophy as top blueliner. As noted by Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli, only once before in the 105-year history of the National Hockey League has a defenseman won the Norris and then been dealt that same summer. And that was over 60 years ago, in 1961 (Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens). 

ERIK KARLSSON IS THE FIRST DEFENSEMAN SINCE 1992 TO HIT 100 POINTS 🤯 pic.twitter.com/6S4DBrcHrd

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 11, 2023

But Sharks general manager Mike Grier said he'd be willing to listen to any offers coming his way for the stud D-man, who has stated his desire to be in a winning situation. "We’ll have to see," said Grier after the season, "as he takes some time away to think about it, and then we get down the road in the offseason, what else might pop up as far as [another] team’s interest in him.

"As we've done for the last four months, if there's interest in him, we'll listen and see if it makes sense. And if something does come up, we'll take it to Erik." 

Karlsson, 33, is only halfway through an 8-year, $92M contract with the Sharks; he has an $11.5M cap hit for the final four years of the deal. 

Notably, the Edmonton Oilers checked in on Karlsson at the trade deadline and are said to be at it again. Their cap situation, however, would make it difficult to pull off such a deal.

The Sharks may need to pick up some of his salary to make a trade work. But make no mistake, as noted by Seravalli, Erik Karlsson's value will never be higher than it is this summer. 

Photo: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports