Report: Big update on Pavelski negotiations following massive Karlsson signing

In case you missed it, the San Jose Sharks officially inked superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson to a historic eight year contract worth a cool $92 million.

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Karlsson’s new deal carries a whopping $11.5 million cap hit, making him the highest paid defenseman in NHL history.

With the Karlsson negotiations done and dusted the Sharks now have just $12.5 million to re-sign captain Joe Pavelski, forwards Joe Thornton, Timo Meier, Kevin Labanc, Gustav Nyquist, Joonas Donskoi and defenseman Joakim Ryan. Yikes… that’s not much money to go around and now many analysts are wondering whether or not the Sharks will be able to retain the services of Pavelski, specifically.

NHL insider Craig Custance of The Athletic reports however that the Karlsson signing doesn’t necessarily spell the ending of Pavelski’s time in the Bay Area.

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Assuming Pavelski receives a modest raise on his $6 million annual salary, I’m not sure how the Sharks make this happen. The most likely scenario is that Justin Braun and/or Brendan Dillon and their $3+ million salaries are shipped out this offseason. But even then, it likely means that Nyquist and Donskoi are history.

Thoughts, Sharks fans?