The first post-Erik Karlsson contract domino has fallen for the San Jose Sharks, as they’ve traded defenseman Justin Braun to the Philadelphia Flyers.
From the moment the San Jose Sharks announced their record-setting extension with defenseman Erik Karlsson, people knew some moves were coming. They had to clear cap space to make things work. The first domino has fallen, as the Philadelphia Flyers have traded for Sharks defenseman Justin Braun. They got a 2019 second-round pick and a 2020 third-round pick in return.
There is no retained salary in this trade for San Jose, which is extremely significant. That means the Sharks clear Braun’s entire $3.8 million cap hit, which leaves them with just over $16.3 million of cap space.
More from Puck Prose
- Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
- This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
- 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
- 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
- This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings
Every cent of savings counts, especially with San Jose trying to re-sign Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Timo Meier, and Kevin Labanc (among others). Not only did general manager Doug Wilson find a way to clear Braun’s entire cap hit, he got a team to give him draft picks to do it.
For the Flyers, this pretty much solidifies the right side of their blueline. They’ve already traded for Matt Niskanen. Both Travis Sanheim and Philippe Myers appear to be NHL ready as well. Additionally, left-handed defenseman Shayne Gostibehere has experience on the right side.
This leaves the Flyers with over $30 million of cap space. However, they still have to sign Kevin Hayes (whose rights they traded for) and a number of restricted free agents. Those RFAs include defenseman Ivan Provorov, Sanheim, forward Travis Konecny, forward Scott Laughton, and forward Ryan Hartman.
Braun came into the 2018-19 season as one of the Sharks best defensemen. However, his struggles made him expendable, especially with both Karlsson and Brent Burns on the right side. Braun saw his point total cut in half, as he went from 33 points in 2017-18 to just 16 in 2018-19.
For the sixth straight season, he averaged over 20 minutes of ice time per game. However, Braun saw his minutes cut by just over a minute per game from 2017-18 to 2018-19. He was one of the Sharks’ most used penalty killers, so expect that to remain the same with the Flyers.
It appears San Jose gets the better end of this trade. They accomplished precisely what they wanted and didn’t have to retain any of Braun’s salary, which is huge. That extra $3.8 million should help their chances of keeping Pavelski and Meier around and it gives them a bit of breathing room.