For months, there has been speculation that the Senators would try to trade their star defenseman Erik Karlsson, as his contract is up after this coming season. They finally made that move today.
The Senators have traded Karlsson, as well as prospect Francis Perron, to the San Jose Sharks. In return, the Senators will receive forwards Chris Tierney and Rudolfs Blacers, defenseman Dylan DeMelo, prospect Josh Norris, as well as two picks. They’ll gain an additional pick if the Sharks re-sign Karlsson.
Karlsson is a two-time Norris Trophy winner, both with the Senators in 2012 and 2015 and was the runner-up in 2016 and 2017. He has led defenseman in points since the 2009-10 season with 126 goals and 392 assists in 627 NHL games. He has also finished among the NHL’s top-1o leading scorers twice, once in 2011-12 and in 2015-16. He was also among the top-10 assist leader four times (2011-12; 2013-14; 2015-16; 2016-17).
Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson said about acquiring Wilson today, “It’s extremely rare that players of this caliber become available. The word ‘elite’ is often thrown around casually but Erik’s skill set and abilities fit that description like few other players in today’s game. With Erik, Brent Burns, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, we feel we have three of the NHL’s top defenseman and stand as a better team today than we were yesterday.
The other player going to the Sharks, Francis Perron, has spent the last two seasons with Ottawa’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Belleville Senators, and will most likely spend time again in the AHL with the San Jose Barracuda.
Meanwhile, for the Senators, they gain four players and two draft-picks (possibly three) as they continue their rebuild.
