Shark Week Continues

 Oh wait..shark week is still on TLC.....

Maybe Erik Karlsson had an inkling he would be joining the Sharks when no one else did. He chose this summer to visit San Francisco, Napa and a few other Bay Area hot spots for the first time in his life.
Now, if things work out the way one might expect, Karlsson could call the region home for a long time.
On the eve of Friday’s opening of training camp, San Jose turned the hockey world on its ear by acquiring the offensively gifted defenseman in yet another blockbuster trade that has become general manager Doug Wilson’s signature move.

The Sharks packaged forwards Chris Tierney, Rudolfs Balcers, defenseman Dylan DeMelo, college prospect Josh Norris and two conditional draft picks — a second in 2019 and a first in 2020 — in exchange for forward prospect Francis Perron and Karlsson, the dynamic defenseman who enters the seventh and final year of a $45 million deal.

If San Jose extends Karlsson before the 28-year-old achieves unrestricted status July 1, Ottawa will receive a conditional second-round selection in the 2021 draft.
“We try to acquire players who fit for now and the future, especially at a certain age and where their game is at,” Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said. “Yes, it’s a long-term approach. We feel real fortunate to have Erik willing to join us.”

As architect of a franchise that has been to the playoffs in 13 of 14 seasons on his watch — and yes, he’s still chasing a first Stanley Cup — Wilson appears to have fleeced another team of its best player. Like Joe Thornton, Brent Burns, Martin Jones and Evander Kane, Karlsson comes to the Sharks in the prime of his career with a deep resume.

The native of Landsbro, Sweden, won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman in 2012 and 2015. He finished runner-up twice (2016 and 2017). And since entering the league in 2009-10, no rear guard has scored more points than the slick skater with 518 (126 goals, 392 assists) in 627 NHL games, all with the Senators, who drafted him 15th overall in 2008.

Karlsson described Thursday as an extremely emotional day. He said the trade came as a shock. He won’t be in San Jose for the start of camp Friday as he works through visa issues and a personal obligation. But once he arrives, he’ll be ready to go.

“It’s going to be an extremely competitive team,” Karlsson said. “They have a winning culture. They make the playoffs year after year. I know I’m going to be walking into an extremely hungry team that is competitive every night. I’m looking forward to that.”

Karlsson is joining a blue line that now just might be the best in the league. He and fellow Norris winner Brent Burns are two of only three active defensemen with multiple 70-point seasons. Both right-hand shots give head coach Peter DeBoer all kinds of options with regards to possible pairings.
Justin Braun and Tim Heed, who emerged and helped to make DeMelo expendable, are San Jose’s two other righties to go with lefties Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Brenden Dillon, Joakim Ryan and Czech rookie hopeful Radim Simek.

“He and Burnzie on the power play will be pretty dynamic along with our key forwards,” Wilson said. “We’ve got all the ingredients. The ability to create offense from the back end — a lot of teams who are successful at it win — you have to have that element. I think it just makes us all better.”
Oh, the possibilities. And, oh, the expectations. If San Jose looked to drop a notch below Stanley Cup contention when it failed to lure the summer’s free-agent prize, John Tavares, its stock rose again less than a month before the Oct. 3 season opener.

“I think starting camp with all the pieces here intact brings a lot of juice to everybody,” Wilson said.