Rumor: The San Jose Sharks have made Erik Karlsson a massive offer.

Karlsson has received a huge offer.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Rumor: The San Jose Sharks have made Erik Karlsson a massive offer.
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For a while it seemed like star defenseman Erik Karlsson was destined to hit the free agent market this summer, and that may in fact still be the case, but it now sounds like the San Jose Sharks are going to do everything in their power to prevent that from happening. 

On Saturday Sportsnet's National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that there is now a belief that the Sharks have made Erik Karlsson a massive contract in an effort to prevent him from entering the free agent period. According to the report from Friedman it sounds like this would be a contract that would make Karlsson one of the highest paid players in the league. 

From Friedman's 31 Thoughts:

We are getting close to clarity on Erik Karlsson and San Jose. The Sharks have worked this hard. It is believed they’ve made him an offer that will challenge, if not surpass, Drew Doughty’s extension from last summer. Three weeks ago, I thought Karlsson was going back east for family reasons and a travel schedule that’s easier on the body. San Jose needs a decision, conversations have intensified, and I think they’ve got a shot.

For reference here, Doughty is himself among the National Hockey League's highest earners. Doughty signed an 8 year contract extension with the Los Angeles Kings in 2018 and that deal will pay Doughty and average annual value of $11 million per season. That contract included significant trade protection throughout the length of the deal as well as massive signing bonuses through the early years of the deal. 

There is no question that Karlsson has the talent to warrant that type of money but the questions regarding his health over the past several seasons have raised a great many questions about signing him to a max term deal. The Sharks and general manager Doug Wilson however do not seem to share those concerns and have reportedly offered Karlsson a deal that could perhaps exceed the one that Doughty received. That being said though Karlsson has failed to play a full 82 games season since the 2015 - 2016 NHL regular season with the Ottawa Senators, and was limited to just 53 regular season games this season with the Sharks. On top of that there is no question that his injuries severely limited him in the postseason as well, raising further concerns.

Only time will tell if this deal pans out for the Sharks, assuming Karlsson accepts of course.

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