If the Sharks trade Erik Karlsson this summer, it will probably be a trade unlike any other in NHL history.
It’s that challenging of a deal because of his contract.
Signed by the Sharks in June 2019, Karlsson’s eight-year, $92 million pact made him the NHL’s highest-paid defenseman. Indicative of how massive it still is — and of course, a global pandemic has something to do with that too — four years later, Karlsson still is the highest-paid defenseman in the league.
To move a contract with an $11.5 million average annual value (AAV) is no small feat, especially since the salary cap hasn’t risen significantly since 2019, in large part because of the pandemic. Since the 2019-20 NHL season, the cap has only gone up $2 million, up to $83.5 million.
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