© Jeff Curry | 2019 May 17
SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks have re-signed coveted defenseman Erik Karlsson to an eight-year contract, expected to be worth around $92 million. That number would exceed the Kings’ Drew Doughty for the largest contract for a blue liner in NHL History.
Like the NBA, the extending team is the only side that can offer a player eight years, so had Karlsson hit the market, he’d only have been able to sign a seven-year deal elsewhere.
In 53 games last season with the Sharks, Karlsson posted three goals and 42 assists for 45 points. But the Sharks really only saw a glimpse of what the once in a generation defenseman can do. EK65 spent last season coming off torn tendons in his left foot, along with a cracked bone in that same wheel. Karlsson missed 27 of the final 33 games down the stretch due to a groin injury he suffered against Arizona in January, then re-aggravated it Feb. 26 in the infamous game against Boston, which eventually required surgery.
Karlsson returned for the playoff run, but as we all saw, was not the same player previous to his January injury.
From December 1st until that January injury, the Sharks were the highest scoring team in the NHL. They dominated in every possession metric during those six weeks, going 17-7, with 76 goals for and 36 points during that stretch. This lead the league by far, as Tampa Bay had the second most goals during that time with 63.
That December 1st date is important because that was around the time Karlsson really started clicking with San Jose.
This move does put Doug Wilson and the San Jose Sharks in a somewhat precarious situation for the rest of this offseason, as it now seems like they only have around $13 million worth of cap space left to extend Joe Pavelski, Timo Meier, Joe Thornton, and Kevin Labanc.
Meier and Labanc are going into their restricted free agency years, and can be signed to an offer sheet by any team in the NHL, but the Sharks retain their rights and can match any offer. Or the Sharks can chose to take draft pick compensation for those two players, but restricted free agency is exceedingly rare in the NHL and rarely do RFA’s change teams.
Pavelski is in line for a raise after scoring 38 goals and mounting a triumphant return in the postseason from a brutal injury sustained against Vegas in Game 7, which we will all remember the rest of our lives. And while Joe Thornton remains on the fence about retirement, re-upping Karlsson will probably entice Jumbo Joe to return for another year.
The Sharks will, quite literally, be going for broke for what seems like one last cup run next season. I fully expect Pavelski and Thornton to be re-signed on team friendly deals, along with Labanc and Meier. But this team has more than five players with over five years left on their deals, and at a figure of $6 million or more, Evander Kane, Logan Couture, Marc-Édouard Vlasic, Brent Burns and now Karlsson make up about 30 percent of their payroll. Sound familiar Giants fans?
This team will be in cap hell in a few seasons, but it is clear that Doug Wilson and the San Jose Sharks remain committed to bringing the elusive Stanley Cup to San Jose.