Erik Karlsson said he’s happy playing for the San Jose Sharks, but the chance to win could factor into accepting a trade before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 3.
“I will never sway from that. I want to win,” Karlsson told the “Got Yer Back” podcast. “And I think as you get older and you’ve been around for a longer time, you realize that it’s not as easy as it looks and you’ve got to hit it right at the right time.”
In his 14th NHL season, the 32-year-old is enjoying a resurgent 2022-23 season. He leads all NHL defensemen with 15 goals, 47 assists and 62 points in 46 games. He’s on pace for 27 goals and 111 points, which would exceed his NHL career-best 82 points (16 goals, 66 assists) in 82 games with the Ottawa Senators in 2015-16.
Because of injuries, Karlsson hasn’t played more than 56 games in a season since he was acquired by San Jose in a trade with Ottawa on Sept. 13, 2018. But he’s healthy and is averaging 25:22 of ice time per game this season, fifth-best in the NHL.
He was named to the Pacific Division roster that will play in the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Feb. 4 at FLA Live Arena, in Sunrise, Florida (3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, CBC, SN, TVAS).
The Sharks are 14-23-9, in seventh place in the eight-team Pacific and 14 points behind the Calgary Flames for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. They have not qualified for the postseason since 2018-19.
Karlsson, who is in the fourth season of an eight-year contract he signed with San Jose on June 17, 2019, said he isn’t thinking too much about the potential of being traded, but that could change “once we get a little bit deeper here and if things really start to materialize and start setting it.”
“I know that it’s a possibility in my future that things might change, or they might not, I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t like to live in the unknown and I don’t like to think about it too much.”
Karlsson said Sharks general manager Mike Grier is right to listen to inquiries from other NHL teams about acquiring him.
“‘Griersy’ has done a great job in everything that he’s said and everything that he’s done and how he’s acted through all of this,” he said. “I think he should, he should explore all his options and his possibilities and do what he believes is best for this organization, because, at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. If I take care of myself and everybody else takes care of themselves, we’re all going to be fine in the end anyways.”
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