Karlsson Deal Is Tale of Two Trades

For the San Jose Sharks, I see the Erik Karlsson deal as two trades.

There’s the trade of just Karlsson himself to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and all his upside and baggage. He’s the reigning Norris Trophy winner, but he’s also 33, injury-prone, has four years left on a killer $11.5 million AAV contract, and hasn’t been consistently great for most of the last half-decade.

Then, there’s the deal for all the unfavorable contracts that the San Jose Sharks got back. From Pittsburgh, two years of Mikael Granlund at $5 million AAV and two years of Jan Rutta at $2.75 million AAV. From the Montreal Canadiens, one year of Mike Hoffman at $4.5 million AAV.

In a way, the San Jose Sharks didn’t get anything back for Karlsson, while also retaining 13 percent of his remaining contract, $1.5 million AAV.

That sounds crazy – the Pens also sent a 2024 first-round pick, top-10 protected, to the Sharks. But if we’re being honest, that premium pick was just as much for taking on Granlund, Rutta, and Hoffman’s tough deals, if not more so.

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