The Sharks retained a portion of Karlsson's salary, 13% to be exact ($1.5 million), but the haul they got wasn't nearly as large as was originally anticipated for the reigning Norris Trophy winner.
The Penguins, as we know, were one of a number of teams that were linked to Karlsson over the last several weeks. The most interested parties also included Carolina, Seattle and Toronto, but according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, there was another Canadian team knocking on the door during the season, leading up to the deadline as well.
As we know now, the Oilers missed out on having a top power play unit that contained all 3 of McDavid, Draisaitl and Karlsson. This one, however, likely had more to do with Karlsson's cap hit and Sharks GM Mike Grier not being too keen on retaining a larger portion of Karlsson's salary, such as the 50% that he'd likely have retain in a deal involving the Oilers.