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[Discussion] Erik Karlsson - the all encompassing Free Agency Thread


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Thought it’d be the right time to create this thread after his recent “thank you” tweet is stirring quite the speculation:

 

Seems like someone that’s saying his goodbyes if you ask me.

 

Rangers, Lightning, Vegas, Vancouver have all been notably linked to him over the past year or so. And there’s obviously San Jose if he decides to stay with them.

 

 

...I don’t care if the Canucks break the bank for him in the $11m-$12m range. If that’s the going price for the top end world class players, then somebody’s going to have to pay it so why not us? The emergence of EP is huge, as well as EK65’s international partner - Edler. For once could potentially have a true #1 dman in our franchise’s history as he is top5 without a doubt on the planet.

 

Let’s not also forget Karlsson chose Vancouver as the only Canadian team he was willing to be traded to (https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/erik-karlsson-trade-talks-pick-canucks-interested/) when his agent gave Ottawa his no-trade list. If the Canucks were weighing their options to trade for him, you bet they’ll be kicking tires in free agency without having to give up any assets. And the track record our city has with Swedish players speaks for itself :ph34r:

 

Let’s get rocking with the countdown to July.1 ! :frantic:

 

From last August:

Quote

 


Friedman, during an afternoon appearance on Prime Time Sports, said he tended to agree with MacIntyre’s assessment.

 

“The one thing I would say about Vancouver is they were in on P.K. Subban and they had a chance to get that one done until they knew they weren’t getting [Pierre-Luc Dubois in the No. 5 spot at the 2016 NHL draft], they made a plan internally to pitch [John] Tavares [in free agency but] didn’t get a seat at the table,” Friedman explained. “It’s not out of the realm of possibility, for me, a team that has kind of been in on these players — and why wouldn’t you be in on Erik Karlsson? — that they would maybe fish and take a look.”

 

Edited by Generational.EP40
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The question is now, will he get/stay healthy?

 

We can't just put Shorty on the case and ask him how Pavel's groin is this time around either.

 

 

Before these playoffs I was "throw all of the money at Karlsson", but if there are significant health issues, they'll only get worse. It's great having a world-class defender on the team, but not much help if he's always on the shelf.

 

So I dunno. On the one hand, I like the risk, on the other hand, I don't want to see us get into a situation where we are gimping our team by throwing Tavares money at someone who isn't even playing.

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4 minutes ago, brownky said:

The question is now, will he get/stay healthy?

 

We can't just put Shorty on the case and ask him how Pavel's groin is this time around either.

 

 

Before these playoffs I was "throw all of the money at Karlsson", but if there are significant health issues, they'll only get worse. It's great having a world-class defender on the team, but not much help if he's always on the shelf.

 

So I dunno. On the one hand, I like the risk, on the other hand, I don't want to see us get into a situation where we are gimping our team by throwing Tavares money at someone who isn't even playing.

Key will be to let him take as much time as needed before letting him play again.

 

Sharks couldn’t afford to do that with them maybe only getting him as a 1 year rental so they drove him until he wore down. He hasn’t been able to properly recover for 2-3 years now so just not rushing him back will do the trick. Look at Kawhi. Yes it’s basketball but you just have to be patient and wait for a full recovery. If you don’t, you’re only harming yourself as the player isn’t up to speed. 

 

 

1 minute ago, PhillipBlunt said:

He's nearing 30

He’s 28, turning 29 in a few days. 7 years is the most term he can get which means whoever gets him will get him till age 36, which is very reasonable.  That’s very reasonable. 

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1 minute ago, Generational.EP40 said:

He’s 28, turning 29 in a few days.

Which is very near 30.

1 minute ago, Generational.EP40 said:

7 years is the most term he can get which means whoever gets him will get him till age 36, which is very reasonable.  That’s very reasonable. 

I get that it's reasonable, but if the groin issues he has are symptomatic of larger issues with his body, and the injuries that have plagued his legs cause him issues that begin to debilitate him, it won't seem reasonable when he spends a Tanevian amount of time in the press box due to repairs.

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2 minutes ago, Generational.EP40 said:

Key will be to let him take as much time as needed before letting him play again.

 

Sharks couldn’t afford to do that with them maybe only getting him as a 1 year rental so they drove him until he wore down. He hasn’t been able to properly recover for 2-3 years now so just not rushing him back will do the trick. Look at Kawhi. Yes it’s basketball but you just have to be patient and wait for a full recovery. If you don’t, you’re only harming yourself as the player isn’t up to speed. 

 

 

He’s 28, turning 29 in a few days. 7 years is the most term he can get which means whoever gets him will get him till age 36, which is very reasonable.  That’s very reasonable. 

Shorter term, and more money?

6 x 11.6 instead of 7 x 10

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He only has half an ankle and that may be the source of some of his injury problems. After reading this quote from his coach I think I would take a pass.

"Really, we had him healthy for six weeks and dialed in," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer told reporters following the defeat.

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1 minute ago, Generational.EP40 said:

How often does a true world class #1  defense man of this calibre become available in free agency? Maybe once every 10-15 years or so. 

 

Karlsson’s reoccurring injury is a large part of the team not giving him the time needed to fully heal. That’s really it. Even on 1 leg he’s better than all but 5 dmen in the world and still produces at the rate he does so is it really that much of a concern? The team that signs him won’t be stupid enough to play his wheels and will surely wait for him to be 110% healthy and recovered. 

 

Notable dmen men who hit FA are Niedermayer and Rafalski, and they were older than Karlsson is too. Chara was a big one too. Case in point being, this rarely happens and when it does, there’s no harm in good after the dman. You either draft these players or trade for them. It’s very unlikely they hit the market and are available for ‘free’. Even an aging Pronger was traded for a number of times during the backend of his career. It just shows how important those types of players are and what they can bring to your team. 

Pierre McGuire on 650 right now saying he has inside information that several eastern teams will be making big offers for EK.  Heard another guy this morning say that EK wants to play in the east because the style of play, and less travel are easier on his body

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1 minute ago, Alflives said:

Pierre McGuire on 650 right now saying he has inside information that several eastern teams will be making big offers for EK.  Heard another guy this morning say that EK wants to play in the east because the style of play, and less travel are easier on his body

"Scuttlebutt around the organization is that (Karlsson) likes the Sharks and the Bay Area," ESPN's Greg Wyshynski and Chris Peters wrote following San Jose's Game 6 loss, "yet there has always been speculation that he could return back east -- the loudest chatter during the playoffs was a potential match with old friend Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers. Needless to say, the 28-year-old remains the elite of the elite when he's healthy, and would be a foundational asset for the Sharks. But after the playoffs, his health can't be trusted or assumed."

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The link you added has no indication that we were the only Canadian team he was willing to waive to be traded to. It was only speculation that we were kicking the tires to see if there would be a fit. For all we know, he may have told us "no thanks" already. With that said, I would certainly see if he's interested as he's still a 70 point dman and can play 25+ minutes needed. He put up 16 points in 19 games in the playoffs despite not looking the healthiest either, so he's clearly a playoff warrior when we get back there in the future and is tough as nails playing through it.

 

I get the injury concern and I do have doubts about that too, but where else can we find such a quality player for nothing more than cap and roster space? At worst in the future he becomes LTIR fodder and finds an island, gets bought out, gets traded (with a sweetener) to a team that wants to get to the cap floor (but I assume he will have trade clauses), or he may even decide to retire and saves us the trouble.

 

There are other options that will bring either a lesser player (albeit maybe younger and healthier), but those will cost other assets that we could also use to further other team.

 

If we are dipping into FA this year, I would like to see us after a big fish like Karlsson or Panarin rather than the moderate expensive guys that have higher flop potential than the surefire superstars.

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1 minute ago, theo5789 said:

The link you added has no indication that we were the only Canadian team he was willing to waive to be traded to. It was only speculation that we were kicking the tires to see if there would be a fit. For all we know, he may have told us "no thanks" already. With that said, I would certainly see if he's interested as he's still a 70 point dman and can play 25+ minutes needed. He put up 16 points in 19 games in the playoffs despite not looking the healthiest either, so he's clearly a playoff warrior when we get back there in the future and is tough as nails playing through it.

 

I get the injury concern and I do have doubts about that too, but where else can we find such a quality player for nothing more than cap and roster space? At worst in the future he becomes LTIR fodder and finds an island, gets bought out, gets traded (with a sweetener) to a team that wants to get to the cap floor (but I assume he will have trade clauses), or he may even decide to retire and saves us the trouble.

 

There are other options that will bring either a lesser player (albeit maybe younger and healthier), but those will cost other assets that we could also use to further other team.

 

If we are dipping into FA this year, I would like to see us after a big fish like Karlsson or Panarin rather than the moderate expensive guys that have higher flop potential than the surefire superstars.

I'd love to see EK with us.  I doubt it though.  If we did somehow get him, then we need to keep both Edler and Tanev.  EK needs to play way less minutes, and way less D zone starts than he did with the Sharks.  If we could shelter his minutes, I think he could stay healthy.  Then, do we want to spend those kinds of dollars on a D man that needs sheltered minutes?  Like him for sure, but would be concerned about his health.  

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We would probably have to overpay, and his value has dropped somewhat.

 

If he wanted to sign here for 5-6 years, $9 million per. and no trade protection after the first 3 years... then it is a no brainer to sign him.

 

7 years at $11 million... no thanks.

 

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