San Jose Sharks: Re-Evaluating the Situation With Erik Karlsson
By Scott Cowan
After barely falling short of Stanley Cup Glory in 2015-16 to the eventual back-to-back champ Pittsburgh Penguins, GM Doug Wilson and crew settled on a win-now motif to continue building upon what looked promising future.
Along with acquiring two-way winger and former fourth overall pick Evander Kane from an at the time fledgling Buffalo Sabres organization, Karlsson was seen as the pièce de resistance for what was supposed to be a future defined by continuing regular season and playoff success. Welp, flash forward to the present day, and not only has that not been the case, but the idea of that once-success is also so long gone it seems as though it was never even there in the first place.
Karlsson’s background as a top-flight NHL defenseman needs no introduction. The former Ottawa Senators first-rounder was at one point, in my opinion, the best defenseman in the NHL on paper by a considerable margin, posting numbers not seen since the days of Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Leetch in the mid-90s to early 2000s.
Playing alongside a fast, young, and talented Senators core comprised of Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, and Craig Anderson among others, Karlsson recorded six seasons of 60+ points in his nine seasons in Ottawa, culminating in a magical run to the Conference Finals in 2016-17 that saw the Sens fall a goal shy of the Stanley Cup Final.
As the Sens core eventually crumbled, however, with the team looking towards the future, now possessing one of the brightest and most promising rosters in the NHL, Stone, Hoffman, supposed franchise savior Matt Duchene and eventually Karlsson, found their way out, mostly through blockbuster trades both good and bad.
Acquiring Duchene cost the Sens 2019 fourth overall pick Bowen Byram (who admittedly has been underused if barely used at all by Colorado), and Stone netted Ottawa little but defenseman Erik Brannstrom who despite immense potential and promise seems destined for a third-pairing role.