Sharks' Erik Karlsson Confirms He's Spoken With More Than 4 Teams About Trade

Many believed the Erik Karlsson sweepstakes were down to just the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Instead, it's been much more. The Swedish defenseman opened up about his trading process after winning Sweden's best hockey player and Chris Johnston reported that Karlsson has confirmed he's spoken to the Penguins, Hurricanes, Seattle Kraken, Toronto Maple Leafs, and more.

Karlsson isn't closing a ton of doors because he says "I just want the best chance to get to the best team." While the Hurricanes, Kraken, and Maple Leafs all got past the first round last season, the Penguins did a bit of lineup altering and only missed the playoffs last season after 16 consecutive postseason appearances. Each of these teams are expected to make the playoffs this coming season and Karlsson has four years left on his deal.

While he didn't confirm which team he was leaning towards, I believe that will be left up to the San Jose Sharks to settle on the best offer. The Sharks are rebuilding, but that doesn't mean a third team won't be involved to take on money or a certain player in return, indicated by the talk surrounding Jeff Petry, Brett Pesce, and William Nylander. At this rate it looks like a trade will get done in the coming months so Karlsson is able to start training camp with his new team.