Erik Karlsson confirms the four contending teams he's spoken with about a trade out of San Jose

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Mike Armenti
July 22, 2023 (8:44)

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This season was a bit of a career resurgence for 33-year-old Erik Karlsson, who racked up an astounding 101 points, playing in all 82 games and winning his third career Norris Trophy. For the past couple of years, the San Jose Sharks have been willing to move Karlsson, but his $11.5M cap hit has put up a significant hurdle, prohibiting the Sharks and other teams from getting a deal done.

San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier has already revealed that the Sharks won't retain 50% of Karlsson's contract and that the maximum amount that he's willing to retain for the next 4 years is in the 20% range.

Karlsson is currently back in Sweden enjoying some time with family and friends over the summer. He recently had the chance to sit down with Swedish reporter Adam Johansson to chat about winning the "Golden Puck" for the third time as Sweden's top player. He also touched on his career and on the current trade rumours surrounding him moving on from the Sharks.

During the interview, Johansson asked Karlsson which teams he has spoken to, (SJ has given permission to speak to teams). Karlsson confirmed he has spoken to Carolina, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Toronto. He also revealed that the interest from Toronto dates back to last season.

"It feels like I've tried to get as much information as I can from the teams that are interested. I will try to make a decision based on the information I received. I just want the best chance to get to the best team." - Karlsson on where he's at with the current trade process

The two frontrunners in the Erik Karlsson race at this point appear to be Pittsburgh and Carolina, but with the defenseman himself confirming that the Leafs are in the mix, it really seems to be more about which team can best sell him on their vision than it is about who has the most cap space. There are ways to create cap space. There aren't many ways to go about getting your hands on a Norris Trophy winner.