Leafs out on Norris Trophy winning defenseman as race appears to be down to 2 teams

Earlier this summer, we had heard reports from multiple insiders that confirmed that Leafs GM Brad Treliving had expressed an interest in San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson. Per those reports, Treliving had been in contact with the Sharks to determine the cost and to perhaps inquire as to how much of Karlsson's $11.5M cap hit that Sharks GM Mike Grier would be willing to retain.

The Leafs weren't the only team interested, however, as both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes were also in the mix. Well, according to the most recent report by Penguins beat reporter Josh Yohe, the Pens and Hurricanes are the two teams who remain in the mix for Karlsson's services.

The Leafs, as we all know, committed a significant amount of money to Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, John Klingberg and Ryan Reaves in the first few days of free agency, which essentially took them out of the running for Karlsson's services. The fact that some reports suggest that Mike Grier doesn't intend to retain more than 20% of Karlsson's salary was probably the beginning of the end for the Leafs in the race.

To be honest, I'm a little surprised to see Kyle Dubas and the Pens as a finalist on Karlsson, as the Pens already have an aging core and not a lot of cap room.