After receiving his the Guldpucken, which is given annually to the best Swedish hockey player, San Jose Sharks defenceman sat down for an interview with Expressen and said that he's been in contact with four teams about a potential trade.
Those four teams are - the Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Seattle Kraken and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Along with the Hurricanes and Penguins, who have been named as the two front-runners for the reigning Norris Trophy winner, the Seattle Kraken and Toronto Maple Leafs also appear to be in the mix.
The 33-year-old is coming off an historic season, becoming only the sixth defenceman in National Hockey League history to put up 100 or more points in a single campaign, joining Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey, Al MacInnis, Brian Leetch and Denis Potvin. In 82 games, the Landsbro, Sweden native had 101 points (25 goals, 76 assists), 36 penalty minutes and was a minus-26.
Karlsson has four years remaining on his contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $11.5 million. The Sharks aren't keen on retaining 50% of his contract, so the most likely scenario will be a three-team deal with another team eating a portion of his salary. Karlsson is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2027.
