The two sides have been working together on a potential deal, but when meeting with the media ahead of the NHL Awards show on Monday night, Karlsson says he wants to be moved by the Sharks as soon as possible.
The 33-year-old is coming off one of the best offensive seasons we've seen by a defenceman within the last three decades. In 82 games, Karlsson had 101 points (25 goals, 76 assists), 36 penalty minutes and was a minus-26.
Karlsson, a native of Landbro, Sweden, has four years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $11.5 million per season. Trying to move someone with a salary like Karlsson's won't be easy at all and it's very unlikely that the Sharks will want to eat 50% of his salary for the next four years. One possibility could be getting another team involved to help with salary retention.
