Erik Karlsson linked to Leafs in latest rumor report from Nick Kypreos

With news earlier this week that San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier is open to the idea of trading star defenseman Erik Karlsson, social media has been abuzz with trade rumors.

Karlsson is in the midst of a renaissance season with an incredible 10 goals and 24 points in just 18 games so far this season and is on pace to put up the best point totals of his entire career at 32 years old. The problem, of course, is that he's signed to a massive $11.5 million annual contract through the 2026-27 season. Still, if the Sharks were to eat up to 50% of that salary in a potential trade, we could see a deal go down. Karlsson might be worth his contract this season, but it's not likely to age well... but if you can get him at $6.25 million well maybe that's something worth considering.

And as luck would have it for Grier and the Sharks, there is no shortage of need for defensemen around the NHL. Karlsson has already been linked to his former Ottawa Senators due to Thomas Chabot's long-term injury and now NHL insider Nick Kypreos is linking Karlsson to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the wake of Jake Muzzin's long-term injury.

On his latest column for The Toronto Star, Kypreos proposes a deal where the Leafs land Karlsson in a move that sees the Sharks take on Muzzin and his contract, while also acquiring top prospect Matthew Knies.

From Kypreos' column today:

"Where is this Erik Karlsson trade rumour heading? Could the Leafs get San Jose to take Muzzin’s contract back, retain salary, and build a deal around top prospect Matthew Knies?"

- Nick Kypreos

So, in effect the Sharks would get an additional prospect in Knies to add to their already stocked prospect cupboards in exchange for eating up to $4.6 million in salary for Muzzin and up to a crazy $28.75 million in salary for Karlsson? In what world would that ever make sense from any perspective? To me Kypreos just sounds woefully out of touch with such a Leafs-centric trade proposition. It really shows just how difficult of a cap crunch the Leafs are in when their reporters bend over backwards to propose such far-fetched scenarios.